COCHRANE— A home went up in flames on Baird Avenue in East End on Sunday (Aug. 22) afternoon.
Cochrane Fire Services and a crew from Rocky View County battled the blaze for several hours after getting the call at approximately 2 p.m. Cochrane RCMP and EMS were also on scene.
First responders reported that the homeowner was inside the building conducting renovations when the home set on fire. He was able to escape without injury.
The home looks mostly unscathed from the front, but from the back it tells a different story— at one point it was completely engulfed in flames.
Some witnesses reported hearing an explosion before noticing black smoke billowing over the building but Cochrane Fire Services Inspector Jeff Avery said the cause of the fire is still unknown.
The site was sealed off Sunday once crews had put out the blaze and an investigation was set to begin Monday.
“The house is now stabilized enough that we were able to get in this morning,” Avery said on Tuesday (Aug. 24). “We just had the backhoe in here recently. Hopefully we should have more information by tomorrow.”
A couple hours after the fire started, a heavy downpour of rain and hail swept over Cochrane, which helped to put out some of the hot spots Avery said. But their aerial ladder service fighting the blaze from above the home where much of the fire was spilling out from, also had to be retracted with the incoming lightning.
