Overnight fire rips through Skyview Ranch home
An overnight fire in the northeast community of Skyview Ranch destroyed one home and damaged two others.
The blaze on 200 block of Skyview Manor Northeast also displaced over a dozen residents while crews worked to bring it under control.
The fire broke out just before midnight. When fire crews arrived, the building was fully involved, and additional units were called in to protect adjacent homes.
Chirag Besai lives next door to the house that caught fire, and was awakened by firefighters telling him to leave.
"It is scary, especially when it's cold outside and you're just barefoot, you are running out of the house, you have no idea what you're going to take with you," said Besai “You just want to run out of the house. That's the first thought (that) came in the mind and you're not thinking anything else."
Neighbour Samantha Keown heard and smelled the fire before she saw it, but once she saw it, she says it spread quickly.
“Originally I thought (it) was like somebody just having a fire in their backyard, because I could hear the crackling of wood, but I was thinking that I could smell something that it wasn't right, I could like smell the plastic siding," said Keown.
“As soon as I turned my head around the corner, I could see the patio, everything was already on fire, and by the time I had ran inside to get the phone and call 911 and came back out, the whole back end was on fire.”
Keown ran to the home to make sure everyone was out.
“I was running over while I was on 911 to start banging on the door to get them out. But they were already running (out). I did panic extra a little bit because one of the women yelled, 'My husband is still in there.'”
That man did get out of the house safely, but the home will have to be demolished. All its supporting walls and joists have been destroyed. Fire crews have told residents of adjacent homes to be careful, as the building is in imminent danger of collapse.
“You can completely see like the whole house is down,” said Chenai “and the firefighter told me that because of the fire one of the walls became very weak (and said) the chances are it can fall on your house.”
Firefighters say patio fires like the one in Skyview Ranch are particularly dangerous because they usually don’t activate smoke alarms until the blaze makes its way inside the home - leaving only seconds for escape. In this case no one was injured.
Fire officials say the cause of the fire is still under investigation but say it is not considered suspicious.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
'I am angry': Alberta farmers will continue fight over world class motorsport resort
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
Potentially toxic chemicals hide in our drinking water and countless household objects, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
'It was violent': Police tear down U of A pro-Palestinian encampment Saturday morning
Multiple people at the protest camp torn down at the University of Alberta campus Saturday say police's actions against protesters were "violent" and "disproportionate."
Election deniers: West Virginia voters must pick from GOP candidates who still dispute 2020 election
When West Virginia Republicans vote in Tuesday's primary, they will have a hard time finding a major candidate on the ballot in any statewide race who openly acknowledges that U.S. President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Man ticketed after allegedly trespassing again at Drake's Bridle Path mansion to get his bike
A man who tried to access Drake’s Bridle Path mansion earlier this week returned to the property Saturday and was apprehended again for allegedly trespassing, Toronto police say.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Biden calls Trump 'unhinged,' says 'something snapped' in former president after he lost 2020 U.S. election
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday called Donald Trump “clearly unhinged” and claimed that “something snapped” in the former president after he lost the 2020 election.