A Calgary school was evacuated Friday due to a large fire in the area.
Four houses were damaged in a fire in Evanston, a neighborhood in northwest Calgary.
The school borders the properties that caught fire but was not affected by smoke or heat, the Calgary Fire Department said.
Calgary police confirmed in a tweet at 4:12 p.m. that St. Josephine Bakhita School had been evacuated. Anyone needing road access to pick up family members from school was asked to contact officers at the scene.
A CFD spokesperson told Global News that crews arrived at the scene at approximately 2:30 p.m. after multiple calls reported smoke in the area. Crews could see smoke long before they arrived and raised a second alarm.
When they arrived, they found two separate duplexes on fire. Wind was a factor with the flying embers and crews set up exposure teams to soak the roofs and watch the embers.
In a press release issued on Friday afternoon, the CFD said that very strong winds increased the threatened area.
Read more:
School evacuated Friday as large fire rages in northwest Calgary
Four houses were severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable, the CFD said, displacing eight people. Three other houses suffered some damage due to heat exposure. There was no news about pets.
The fire department said it has been unable to search the two original houses due to damage.
No injuries were reported as of Friday afternoon.
The police blocked the streets to prevent motorists from obstructing the streets for fire crews.
Alberta Health Services staff were on site assisting with the health and wellness of residents, and utilities Enmax and ATCO helped monitor area utilities.
CFD investigators were expected to remain on scene investigating the cause of the fire and fire crews would be posted overnight for safety.
The CFD is asking anyone with information, photos or video footage of the fire, especially prior to CFD’s arrival, to email the fire department’s public information officer at [email protected].
More to come…
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Reference-globalnews.ca