Calgary firefighters face serious challenges fighting northwest house fire – Calgary

The Calgary Fire Department said calls started coming in around 2 p.m. with reports of heavy smoke and flames coming from a house located off Bowdale Crescent Northwest.

When crews arrived, they were faced with several challenges fighting the fire.

The house, which was vacant and boarded up, is nestled in a forested area, along Short Road, just below Sarcee Trail — an area that was annexed by the City of Calgary years ago and with limited access to fire trucks.

The other challenge was the water supply because the area doesn’t have the same utilities as newer areas of the city — forcing firefighters to carry water in by truck.

“Fire doubles in size every 30 seconds, so even with a five-minute response time, that fire has doubled 10 times,” said CFD public information officer, Carol Henke.

“So we have crews trying to make their way up a narrow road and we don’t have the benefit of a constant water supply from a hydrant, so to be able to deliver uninterrupted water is incredibly important,” added Henke.

There were no reports of injuries and no word on how the fire started.

Firefighters were expected to remain on site overnight in case of any flare ups from hot spots.

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