1 man dead after fire in southeast Calgary

One person is dead following a fire in southeast Calgary early Thursday morning. (Photo: Austin Lee)

A man is dead following a fire that broke out in southeast Calgary Thursday morning.

Firefighters, along with EMS, were called to the 200 block of Pensville Close S.E. for reports of a fire around 8 a.m.

When they arrived, they found one person inside the building.

EMS took the adult male to Foothills Medical Centre in life-threatening condition. Investigators say the man's body was between 30 and 40 per cent burned

Calgary Fire spokesperson Carol Henke confirmed the cause was a contents fire that allowed firefighters to extinguish it relatively easily.

"The fire was limited to the mattress and other parts of the room but it did not extend to the structure, so compared to some of the other fires we respond to, it was a fairly small fire," said Henke.

"Even small fires can be incredibly devastating and fatal due to the smoke that is created from those fires. The bedroom door was closed, thus the fire grew without a lot of smoke going to other parts of the building."

The building had working smoke alarms, but not inside the bedroom where the fire started.

“My understanding is there was another tenant who did smell smoke, the smoke alarms had activated and thus the call was made but the caller was unsure as to where the smoke was coming from,” said Henke. "There doesn't appear to be anything suspicious about this fire. It's just very tragic.”

No one else was found inside the building.

Fire officials remain on scene to determine a cause.