There were more building and structure fires in Calgary in May 2018 than any month in the past five years and that disturbing spike has sparked concern from Calgary’s fire chief.
Chief Steve Dongworth says there were 46 fires in May and 17 so far in June including a fatal house fire Saturday, June 23 in the Northeast community of Tuxedo.
The victim’s age and gender have not been released.
“Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person who died in that fire,” says Dongworth. “Initial investigations indicate that the fire originated in the kitchen. We also know that smoke alarms did not alert occupants to the fire suggesting that the house did not have working smoke alarms.”
However, fire investigators are still working to pinpoint exactly what caused this fire.
Dongworth says there are one or two kitchen fires a day in Calgary and says no residence in Calgary should be without working smoke alarms.
He is also disturbed by the number of fires that are caused by the careless disposal of smoking material and it’s becoming a serious safety issue in Calgary.
“Earlier in May we reminded Calgarians that improper disposal of smoking material such as tobacco products is the leading cause of outdoor fires in Calgary and that using a flower planter, peat moss, your lawn or garden to dispose of smoking materials is a very dangerous choice,” says Dongworth.
The fire chief says 17 fire investigations into the most serious building fires in May and June found that ten were caused by people throwing out tobacco products.
Dongworth says the city has been fortunate that these fires have not resulted in more loss of life or more serious injuries but says in number of these fires some families lost a pet.
“Each and every one of the serious fires amongst these have resulted in families and sometimes multiple families losing their homes, property, possessions, and belongings,” says Dongworth. “Many of these belongings are irreplaceable and in some cases home and property are not insured.”
Dongworth says May 2018 was the busiest month in the last five years for building and structure fires in Calgary which included a four alarm fire involving a 64 unit condo building in Inglewood.
“These are preventable, they are easily preventable, and that is frustrating and when you're there and you truly see the loss these people experience, as opposed to on the ground as opposed to you know a clip on the TV you really get a sense of how profound this loss is and that is frustrating,” says Dongworth.
He is asking all Calgarians to be careful with smoking materials, barbeques and backyard fire pits and to ensure you are dousing all the embers with water to ensure everything is properly extinguished.
Dongworth says the dollar loss for May 2018 is currently $8.5 million which makes this the third highest monthly dollar loss in the past five years but cautions that dollar amount might rise considering most of the significant fires this month damaged or destroyed people’s homes.
