Firefighters from the Balzac fire department responded to a fire in a bedroom at a home on Country Hills Boulevard and Range Road 285, just east of Calgary in Rocky View County (RVC) on Dec. 28, 2015 at approximately 11 p.m., according to RVC Fire Services District Chief Gary Barnett.
“Apparently, one of the kids had set fire to the mattress in the bedroom,” he said. “Luckily, what (an adult man) did when he located the fire, he closed the door on the bedroom, which buys us a bit of time.
“We arrived within about 20 minutes, which for rural is pretty good. When (firefighters) got there, most of the family members who were in (the house) at the time had already left.”
The adult male told fire crews where the fire was and that he had closed the bedroom door, Barnett said.
“The guys were able to get in pretty quick, with two of our guys in full (gear). They were able to get down there, open the door and extinguish the fire,” he said. “It was a good fast attack by the crew that were on duty to save the building.”
“The homeowner had also, before he closed the door, discharged a small extinguisher into the room. It was effective enough to keep (the fire) at bay to give us more time to get there.”
A crew of four firefighters from the Balzac station were able to extinguish the fire, although Barnett said other crews from other stations were standing ready should their assistance be needed.
“They vented it with the positive pressure fans we’ve got and it was a good save on the property,” he said.
Balzac fire station was the nearest of the stations within Rocky View County Fire Services and therefore was the first to respond.
“We don’t have an official line on the investigation but the homeowner had said that they were entertaining some relatives who’d just arrived from Syria that week or that day and they’d got a big family gathering going,” Barnett said. “One of the kids set fire to the mattress.”
No injuries were reported.
