Several family pets are dead and four people were sent to hospital following a fire at a home in the city's northeast on Tuesday morning.
Emergency crews were called to a home in 700 block of Coral Springs Blvd. N.E. at about 2:00 a.m. for reports of a fire.
Fire officials say the home was engulfed in flames when crews arrived.
Four people were able to get out of the home and were taken to hospital in stable, non-life threatening condition.
“We woke up in the middle of the night, I heard the dog barking down stairs and I heard screaming so I came running downstairs to see what it was and I saw a lady screaming out there and I said ‘what happened’ and she’s like, there’s a fire and I said well take the kids and go in the front and I evacuated our house too,” said neighbour Sandy Singh.
Five pets died in the fire; three dogs, a cat and a snake.
“We know that smoke is so dangerous, just a couple of breathes will render you incapable of self-rescuing and unfortunately there were three dogs, one cat and one snake that did succumb to the smoke as a result of the fire,” said Carol Henke, Public Information Officer, Calgary Fire Department. “A home escape plan is very, very important. If you do have pets, including your pets in that plan so that you can hopefully get them out very quickly. We don't want people to go back inside, ever”
The home sustained significant damage and a fire investigator is now working to determine a cause.
“It is really important for everyone to remember that working smoke alarms save lives. They are your first line of defence to let you know that there is an issue in your home with regards to smoke and fire,” said Henke.
Members of the public who have any photos, video or information about the fire, are asked to email them to the CFD Public Information Officer at the following address: piofire@calgary.ca
