'Intense' Dover townhouse fire sends 3 to hospital
Three people are in stable condition in hospital after a two-storey Calgary townhouse caught fire on Saturday morning.
It happened on Doverdale Mews in the southeast community of Dover just before 11:30 a.m.
Calgary fire crews say the fire started on the top floor of the four-suite building. Seven people were able to self-evacuate: three were brought to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and one other was treated on scene.
Battalion chief Innes Fraser says it could have been worse.
"Our crew in the area was actually out getting fuel, so they arrived on scene at 11:24 a.m., one minute after the initial call," he said. "They used what we call a 'transitional attack,' which means they were putting water from the outside of the structure in to it. And (then) the crews worked their way inside to search and make sure everyone was out."
Neighbours tell CTV News the flames spread quickly.
"I was letting my dogs out and I heard screaming for help," Courtney Hawthorne said. "There was a lady in the upstairs window hanging out and screaming that she couldn't jump. And then I saw the right window burst and the flames started to come out."
Hawthorne says she still isn't sure how everyone inside was able to evacuate, but she's relieved they were.
"It was starting to go to the neighbours' side when I saw it," she said. "The wind was blowing so it was coming out really heavy and the smoke was thick. It was intense."
Fire crews say substantial damage in the source suite means it will not be able to be reoccupied.
A total of 13 fire apparatus attended the scene and will remain there throughout Saturday evening to extinguish any hot spots.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.