A woman and her adult daughter are homeless after a fire gutted their two-bedroom apartment on Thursday afternoon.
Red Deer Emergency Services crews responded to the blaze at Clayton Park Apartments at 3039 49 Ave. around 3:50 p.m.
Platoon chief Gord Klootwyk said crews arrived to find flames and smoke billowing out of the corner apartment on the first floor.
“It took a little over 10 minutes for a quick knock down,” he said.
The fire did not spread to surrounding apartments but caused minor damage to the suite above on the second floor.
The two residents were taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre with undetermined injuries.
A small crowd gathered within minutes to watch the crews battle the fire. There are 30 suites in the three-storey building with close to 40 residents.
There did not appear to be many people at home at the time.
Fire medics went door-to-door to ask residents to leave while they worked.
A city bus was available for residents to take shelter at the Black Knight Inn parking lot. Residents were allowed to return home within a few hours.
Heather Handford, who co-manages Clayton Park Apartments, said the mother and her daughter have lived in the building for about a year.
Handford was just exiting the building when she noticed the smoke.
“I saw this pitch black smoke,” she said. “I thought where the heck is that coming from? I thought my tree was going to start on fire.”
Handford said the apartments rugs were recently shampooed and the building was renovated.
Klootwyk said the good news is the apartment was on the first floor which meant crews that easy access to fight the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com