An unattended space heater ignited a blaze that badly damaged a north Red Deer home on Wednesday.
“It was on high and it ignited some combustible materials that were close by,” said Tim Kivell, assistant fire marshall on Thursday.
The homeowner had left his house about 11:30 a.m. and returned around 90 minutes later to a wall of smoke.
“The space heater was downstairs. They had just moved in two days ago so they had a lot of stuff laying around because they were unpacking,” said Kivell.
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Homeowner Cory Gray said on Wednesday when he arrived back at his home at 59th Avenue and 71st Street the doorway was full of smoke. He quickly got in his car with his 18-month-old daughter and backed away to safety.
His wife arrived soon after. None of the family was hurt.
Red Deer Emergency Services was on the scene within minutes and had the fire out within 13 minutes of the 911 call.
Kivell said there was a lot of smoke damage to the lower levels of the home. He estimated the damages at $75,000 as well as about $25,000 in contents.
The house was insured.