On Oct. 6 at approximately 6 a.m., Chestermere Fire Services (CFS) responded to a house fire in Rainbow Falls.
The CFS investigation concluded that the fire started in the compost bin beside the home, after the accidental disposal of ashes, from a smoker that was located on the deck.
“They disposed of the ash in the compost bin, in that compost bin were some combustibles. Ash can sit and fester, and slowly interact with other combustibles, and before you know it there’s a fire,” said CFS Fire Captain, Joel Fournie.
The fire quickly spread to the exterior of the house, into the eaves and the roof.
When the owner of the home came downstairs in the morning, she saw an orange glow, alerted her family, and called 911.
Since the fire was outside of the home the homeowners weren’t alerted by smoke detectors because there was no smoke in the home.
The second story of the home was lost, however, CFS was able to stop the fire from spreading to nearby homes.
“This is a good reminder for people to be cautious about how they are disposing of any sort of smoking material or ash. The safest way is to soak it, stir it, soak it again,” Fournie said.
While responding to the call, Fournie and other members of the CFS, saw the support the homeowners received from their neighbours.
“You could really see the community coming alive. There was a large amount of people out there supporting the homeowners, and the folks from the Lakeridge Community Church showed up to show their support,” Fournie said.
Adding, “That is a neat aspect of Chestermere when you see the community come alive to support people who have suffered a devastating loss.”
