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CALGARY - Firefighters said this afternoon a three-alarm blaze at a 159-unit apartment complex on Millrise Drive S.W. is under control.
Calgary EMS is reporting that there are no injuries from the blaze, and everyone got out safely. About 300 people live in the complex.
By mid-afternoon, firefighters were turning their efforts to finding trapped pets. Two dogs were previously rescued, and many residents arriving at the scene were frantic for the safety of their pets still trapped.
As of 12:44 p.m. today, thick black smoke could be seen rising into the air in the southwest neighbourhood off Macleod Trail S. Firefighters are in cranes, dousing the flaming roof. Although a cause of the blaze had not been determined, investigators believe it started in the roof.
The top storey of the large condo building was destroyed, and burning roof debris was raining down in front of firefighters while huge crowds were standing across street videoing on cell phones.
Most building occupants were not home, EMS officials said, presumed to be at work. Others ran to safety on their own accord or were led to safety.
Seventeen people were assessed for smoke inhalation but there were no injuries to residents or firefighters.
City buses were used to keep people warm from the cold wind and blowing smoke.
Witnesses describe a dramatic scene at the fire, where Macleod Trail drivers can see the flames and towering plumes of black smoke.
Resident Laura Clark, 26, came home for lunch when she heard the fire alarm go off. She raced outside and saw smoke.
But within minutes, she saw angry orange flames licking the four-storey roof.
"It was chaos, mothers and babies running outside with no socks on. I gave my jacket to a baby who was shivering," she said.
Dominik Aschauer was sleeping when the fire alarm's screech woke him. He only had time to grab his cell phone.
The family living in the unit above his lost their suite, he said, and he stood watching his home, worrying it would be next.
Witnesses say the heat from the fire can be felt from across the street.
Chiropractor Lisa Makofka's office was among those in the nearby Millrise Station that was evacuated.
"We have patients in that building," she said, watching the building burn.
Her afternoon clients will be turned away by police blocking the parking lot. "We have no way to let them know what's going on," she said.
Among the businesses affected are a vet clinic and pre-school.
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