Fire investigators digging into the origins of the ferocious inferno that claimed four houses in a Sylvan Lake neighbourhood Tuesday are focusing their efforts on the backyard of one of the homes that was razed to its foundations.
As firefighters sifted through the ashes beside propane tanks at the rear of one of the blackened lots, fire and town officials held a press conference Wednesday.
“All I can tell you is again we responded (to a) 911 call (that) said we were coming to a structure fire,” Sylvan Fire Chief Cliff Brausen responded to a question that the blaze may have been caused by a propane tank explosion.
“An explosion did not come into the equation at that point. Upon arrival we did have some propane tanks that were exploding, 20-pounders in the barbecues and those little Colemans.”
Witness statements and photographs led investigators to zero in on the backyard of the second home in from the corner of Wildrose Drive and Wilkinson Circle as the possible point of origin, said Brausen.
It took the fire department nine minutes from when they received the call to get to the scene shortly before 5 p.m., Brausen said, dealing with “very bad” traffic along the way. Their average response time is between seven and 10 minutes, he added, and they couldn’t have gotten to the scene any quicker while maintaining safety.
Some neighbours and onlookers said Tuesday it took anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour for emergency services to arrive.
“Well of course when you’re waiting for assistance it always feels terribly long,” said Alberta Emergency Management Agency field officer Frank Harris. “If you look at the major centres, their benchmark, they try to be on scene within seven minutes of receiving a call. And that’s of course for . . . fully staffed career departments, people in the halls at all times. I think nine minutes is exceptional as a volunteer department.”
Sylvan Lake Mayor Susan Samson also praised the “excellent, quick response” by not only firefighters but all emergency workers, including the town’s victim services staff and the Red Cross.
In all, 14 people were displaced from the four destroyed houses. No one was injured, but a pet cat died. About 12 houses were also damaged on all sides of the fire.
Gusts of wind, with multiple direction changes, spread the fire quickly, but about 30 firefighters from Sylvan Lake and five or six from Red Deer County managed to get it under control in the better part of an hour, Brausen said.
The most easterly destroyed house, which appeared almost undamaged from the outside save for the gaping windows exposing a ravaged interior, was home to a flare-up at about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Firefighters had left the scene, but responded to put it out. The temperature high at Red Deer Regional Airport Tuesday was 28.1C.
The total damage was roughly estimated at $1.5 million, although officials said that could go up.
Harris said the investigation was still in its infancy and that it could take a few days before they determine the cause, adding there was no indication it was anything other than accidental.
Samson said the community shows itself to be really strong in tough times like these, and that victim services and Red Cross had provided the affected families with accommodation and the basic necessities.
“None of these people who have lost everything are on the street,” she said. “They’re all looked after.”
mgauk@www.reddeeradvocate.com