CHESTERMERE – Unless you have lived through it, one can only imagine the devastation that takes place if your house goes up in flames. Sunday, March 10th will be a day that a Chestermere family will not soon forget as they escaped a house fire that totally destroyed their home.
Approximately 10:10 AM a 911 call was placed and the Chestermere Fire Department responded to a fire at a single family home. Upon arrival the firefighter attempted to gain entry to the house but were driven back by the intensity of the flames within the house; as Captain Brent Paquette indicated, “The floors were about to collapse”. The firefighters were left to fight the fire solely from the outside of the structure.
Chestermere firefighters poured hundreds of thousands of liters of water on the fire which was first thought to have started in the basement. The flames soon engulfed the lower floor and quickly spread throughout the 2 story dwelling in Rainbow Falls. Mutual aid was supported by the Langdon Fire Department who responded with one pumper truck. The house at 241 Crimson Lane is a corner lot which likely benefited the fire crews from worrying about the fire spreading to two houses rather than one.
The house was occupied by a family of 3 and fortunately there were no injuries.
Captain Paquette reminds us that the time switch to daylight savings time is a perfect reminder to check the batteries in your smoke detectors. This family had been saved by their smoke detectors working and having an escape plan.
Fire investigators will attempt to determine the cause as early as March 11 but will require the use of a backhoe to remove most of the building to make the structure safe to enter.
