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Tragedy averted in Fort Macleod fire |
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Written by Lethbridge Herald
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Wednesday, May 06 2009, 11:24 PM |
An early-morning work crew with Shaw Cable is being credited with saving the lives Wednesday of seven Fort Macleod people whose home was in flames.
The crew of at least four workers were driving by at about 5 a.m. when they noticed the fire which had started in an adjacent greenhouse and quickly spread to the old brick house and a nearby motel. They reported the fire and went to the house to rouse those sleeping inside. All the occupants, four adults and three children, escaped unharmed.
“They actually rescued the people,” said Fort Macleod fire Chief Dick Shellhorn. “They hammered on the door til they got them up.”
When firefighters arrived, the downtown greenhouse was fully engulfed and the blaze had already spread to the 106-year-old brick house on the corner of 5 Avenue and Jerry Potts Boulevard as well as two vacant units at the Fort Motel. The fire was contained by 6:30 a.m., but fire fighters continued mopping up through the day.
The wood-frame greenhouse, constructed with a corrugated fibreglass roof and siding, was reduced to ashes while the motel units were also destroyed. The home sustained extensive damage, and three vehicles in a garage next the greenhouse were also destroyed.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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