Calgary fire crews rescued a woman from the second floor of a northeast townhouse on Wednesday morning after she became trapped by a fire in the building.
Firefighters were called to Evergreen Village, in the 400 block of 64 Avenue N.E., at about 9:10 a.m. for reports of a fire.
When crews arrived, smoke was coming from one of the units and a woman was trapped in a bedroom on the second floor.
“There was a woman at the second storey window who had not been able to self-rescue. Her unit was full of smoke,” said Carol Henke, Public Information Officer, Calgary Fire Department.
Crews quickly put up a ladder and pulled the woman out of the home through the window.
The woman was assessed by EMS at the scene.
Police shut down eastbound 64th Avenue at Centre Street to give crews room to work.
Fire crews were able to contain the fire to the basement suite and say there was some smoke damage to a nearby unit.
“Fire crews had it under control very quickly. They found it in the basement and put it out. Now they’re ventilating, doing salvage and overhaul, making sure that there’s no extension,” Henke said. “The fire damage is contained to the one suite. There is a little bit of smoke damage to a neighbouring suite but that’s all we know at this point.”
Officials say smoke alarms were working and that the fire is being considered accidental in nature.
“There were working smoke alarms in the unit,” said Henke. “Smoke alarms are so important to alerting us to the fact that there’s an issue but they need to be maintained. Having smoke alarms isn’t enough if you’re not maintaining them and making sure that they are working.”
A fire investigator has been called in to determine where the fire started and the cause.
