'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
W5 Investigates | How did a healthy teen die at a minor hockey camp?
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.

Trump's call for protests gets muted reaction by supporters
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
6 missing after Old Montreal fire 'probably still in the rubble': Police
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
opinion | Biden's Canada visit is long overdue and so are the issues facing the North American neighbours: expert
Questions abound as to why U.S. President Biden is only now making the visit to Canada, more than two years into his presidency.
Woman suing Tim Hortons for $500K after hot tea spill left her 'disfigured'
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
China's Xi meeting Putin in boost for isolated Russia leader
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Air passenger complaints triple in one year to pass 42,000 as backlog grows
The number of air passenger complaints to Canada's transport regulator is soaring, more than tripling to 42,000 over the past year.
Trails of human bacteria from sneezing and coughing preserved on Mount Everest: study
Even at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
Deal for UBS to buy Credit Suisse sends shares tumbling
Shares of Credit Suisse plunged 60.5 per cent on Monday after banking giant UBS said it would buy its troubled Swiss rival for almost US$3.25 billion in a deal orchestrated by regulators to try to stave off further turmoil in the global banking system.