A massive house fire gutted a northwest home after a linseed-oil-soaked rags heated by the sun ignited.
Linseed oil had been applied to the deck the previous day with rags but they were left in a plastic bucket overnight to dry.
Moments before the fire erupted, the bucket of rags reacted with the oil and ignited.
Within moments, the fire spread from the deck to the house.
The single family dwelling in Sunridge was nearly destroyed with damages estimated at $300,000.
Around 3 p.m., a teenager walking by the area called emergency services, which responded within minutes.
Nobody was in the house at the time except the family dog, Sally, who was rescued by a firefighter and was taken to a local veterinary clinic.
The dog has since been returned to the owners and is in good health.
“It’s not uncommon to see at all,” said Chuck D’Amico, assistant fire chief of the Airdrie Fire Department.
“If you have linseed oil confined with natural fibre rags, they can have a thermal reaction.”
As the flames grew, so did the crowd of area residents and people driving by who stopped to see the towering smoke fill the cloudless sky.
Homeowner Linda Prokopchuk was out for a walk at the time with a friend when she received a call telling her that her house was on fire. Her husband, Wally, was working out of town when the fire began, she said.
“In the five minutes it took to get down here, the house was engulfed,” she said.
Neighbours said Prokopchuk is a staff member at George McDougall High School.
“I’ve never seen a house go up that fast,” said Carmen Sekel, a neighbour three houses down who worked in fire restoration.
Two adjacent houses are estimated to each have $20,000 damage to the siding and fences from billowing heat, D’Amico said.
The majority of the house was burned, except the garage and front face and D’Amico believes it’s not salvageable.
“There may be parts that are repairable, but for the most part, it’s a total write off.”
