Blaze destroys two floors of condo
Emergency crews battle fire for almost three hours to extinguish it

by Dave S. Clark
Wednesday November 23, 2005

Fire Marshal Dale Miller inspects that balcony where Chief Burton says the fire could have started.   Photo by Dave S. Clark

Sherwood Park News — Twenty-eight people are without a home after fire ripped through a Woodbridge Farms condominium early Tuesday morning.
The fire at 328 Woodbridge Way tore through the upper two floors of the condo.
According to Fire Chief Laird Burton, it is likely the fire started on the second-floor balcony in the east-facing suite.
At press time, Fire Marshal Dale Miller was still investigating the cause of the blaze.
The call came in at 3:43 a.m. on Tuesday morning from a resident of an adjacent building.
The resident saw flames billowing from the roof of the nearby condo.
When fire crews arrived on scene the roof of the three-storey building engulfed in flames.
Firefighters were able to control the blaze after about 30 minutes on scene. Over 60 firefighters, with the help of the aerial truck, battled the fire.
According to Burton, crews “wrapped up the hoses” around 6:30 a.m.
“They did a heck of a job fighting this fire,” said Burton. “It is not uncommon for multiple adjoining buildings to go up. It was a very aggressive attack.”
The fire was contained to one building. The buildings on either side of the unit are attached and share electrical and water service, but suffered only smoke damage.
Nobody was injured in the incident. Firefighters rescued a number of cats which were returned to their owners.
As a precaution, power was shut off to attached buildings.
Power in the damaged building remained shut off, but was restored to the other units around 7 a.m.
Residents were allowed back into the homes not affected by the fire shortly after.
“It was a very big fire,” said Burton, noting the nearby residents were evacuated due to safety concerns.
As soon as word got out about the fire, help was on the way.
The Red Cross was on scene to provide aid to 12 people who had been seriously affected by the fire.
They were given an allowance to purchase new clothing and other essentials. The Salvation Army was also involved in helping those affected.
Nikki Jones, who lives in an apartment in the same complex, was woken up by the smell of smoke in the early morning hours.
She said she was very impressed with the quick response from different organizations.
She went out to investigate what was going on and found people who had been evacuated and were now sleeping in their cars.
That is, until a Strathcona Transit bus driver parked his bus and offered displaced residents a warm environment to relax in.
Jones’ apartment wasn’t damaged but was saturated with the smell of smoke.
At press time, there was no estimate on how much damage the fire caused to the building.