CALGARY FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO AN APARTMENT FIRE ON CENTER STREET NE

At approx. 8 pm this evening, the Calgary Fire Department (CFD) responded to reports of a building fire on Center Street NE. The first arriving apparatus were met by the occupants of a four apartment complex who had self evacuated the building. The fire crews were challenged by a fast moving fire that had started under the wooden front stairs and had entered the lower apartment through a window that had broken due to the extreme heat. The crews started an aggressive two prong attack, one crew quickly extinguished the stairs and the outside of the building whilst a second crew were taking hose lines in through the rear door. Once the lines were in place, the Firefighters entered the apartment to battle that fire. Fortunately the bedroom door was closed which contained the fire to the involved room. The bedroom door was opened and the fire was extinguished by forced it back out the way it had entered, through the broken window. The involved apartment as well the one above it sustained damage from the heat and smoke. The rest of the complex sustained minor damage and the occupants should be able to return to their homes. There were no injuries and even though the fire appears to have started under the front stairs the actual cause of the fire is still under investigation.