'It was like watching a big bonfire': Blaze guts house in Douglas Glen

Two people in southeast Calgary escaped unhurt with their dog late Monday night as flames ripped through their Douglas Glen house.

The house was engulfed in flames as the first crews arrived at the 100 block of Douglas Glen Crescent S.E. at 11:15 p.m., prompting them to call for more firefighters, officials said in a release.

The two residents had already got out of the house with the dog by the time firefighters arrived.

"Apparently their smoke alarm did activate, so that's what alerted them to the fact that there was an issue in their home," said fire department spokesperson Carol Henke.

Fire crews used aerial ladder trucks to shoot water into the burning two-storey house until the blaze was brought under control.

One firefighter was taken to hospital andtreated for minor injuries.

Henkesaid the fire is a good reminder for Calgarians to make sure they have working smoke alarms on every floor, and to test the batteries monthly. Alarms that are more than 10 years old should be replaced, she said.

"The scary part is, what if they didn't have working smoke alarms?The result could have been very different," Henke said.

Three nearby homes were damaged by the heat from the fire. "Fire crews did an amazing job of saving those homes," Henke said.

Brady Connelly, who lives across the street, said fire crews seemed to get the blaze under control quickly.

"They had the water going on it right away, but it was shooting up pretty high it was like watching a big bonfire," he said.

Crews are still on scene extinguishing hot spots.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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