NO ONE was injured when an early morning fire forced out the occupants of a townhouse in the Kalum Gardens complex in the 4500 Block of Scott.
Firefighters have yet to establish a cause but believe it started in an upper floor bedroom of the unit located at the northern end of a townhouse row.
A witness from a neighbouring residence said she looked out of her window after hearing a sound and noticed a flicker in one of the windows of the townhouse.
“I saw the flicker, then the windows blew out and then smoke and then flames,” said the witness.
She then had her sons run to adjacent townhouses to make sure residents were awake and getting out safely.
Lt. Lawrence Stella of the Terrace Fire Department said there were three people in the unit when the fire broke out around 4 a.m.
“At this point the cause is still under investigation,” he said. “We were able to contain it to one unit.”
The unit is heavily damaged and the occupants are now being assisted by emergency social services workers.
Fortunately, Stella added, there was a fire separation in the attic of the townhouse row.
Firefighters don't yet know if there were smoke alarms in the unit.
Both Stella and fire chief John Klie said smoke alarms should be installed in every residence in the city and that batteries should be checked regularly.
This is the third fire in several years at the complex. The last one resulted in two deaths.