A house fire in southeast Calgary was quickly extinguished Thursday afternoon.
Just after 1 p.m., members of the Calgary Fire Department were called to a residence on Rivervalley Drive SE for reports of a fire. Three residents and two pets – a dog and a cat – escaped when a smoke alarm went off.
When crews arrived, smoke was visible from outside the home. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire in the main floor bedroom.
A subsequent search of the home revealed another resident in a downstairs suite who was unaware of the emergency.
Three people were assessed by EMS and one person who suffered smoke inhalation refused to be transported to the hospital, according to the CFD.
The Red Cross was called to provide temporary support to the residents of the home.
A fire investigator determined the fire was accidentally caused by smoking material.
The CFD said this incident was a reminder of the importance of working smoke alarms.
“When a fire starts, you usually have less than two minutes to evacuate safely,” the CFD said in a news release.
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