A passerby is believed to have saved the lives of three people who slept while the back of their house was on fire early Saturday morning.
Okotoks deputy fire chief Danny Freeman said homeowners of a Westland Gate bungalow and their son were asleep in the house when someone driving by noticed the flames while leaving for a hunting trip and pounded on the door to wake them up. Dispatch received a call about the blaze at around 4 a.m. on Oct. 10.
"There was just enough time to get them up and out," said Freeman. "By the time they got outside it would have engulfed the whole interior."
Freeman said the blaze originated outside at the back of the house on the south side, heating up the home's interior before the flames quickly moved inside with the help of a southwest wind. The neighbouring houses on each side also received damage.
"It was quite a blaze by the time we saw it," said Freeman.
Freeman said the six firefighters on shift responded in two trucks, and received assistance from the High River and Heritage Pointe fire departments. He estimates the first truck arrived within three minutes and the second in less than 10.
Pam McCracken stood in front of the house of her best friend with her grandson, in shock, later Saturday morning. She received a text from the couple's daughter-in-law earlier in the morning telling her what had happened.
"It's worse than I thought," she said as she looked at the charred remains. "I feel like I have to see this to believe it. For me, this was my second home."
McCracken expressed concern about the loss of her friends' family photos, and other belongings like their keys and drivers licences. She said the couple, which is in their 50s, had moved to Okotoks from Scotland and lived in the home for about 20 years.
"They came out with nothing," she said. "They don't even have their phones."
The night before, McCracken dropped off a birthday present for her friend at the house. The couple and their son are now staying with family in Okotoks, she said.
"I'm so thankful to that hunter," said McCracken. "I don't know if they would have gotten out otherwise. It really makes you think."
Freeman said firefighters retrieved some items from the home including keys and wallets. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Residents help out
When Ashley Dymond learned about the fire, she put a call out for bottles on three social media platforms.
The response was so overwhelming that on Sunday she collected bottles from 60 homes in 10 hours, almost filling her parents’ garage.
Dymond, who doesn’t know the family, is also receiving donations of clothing, cash, blankets and toiletries for the family.
“The amount of responses I’ve had since Saturday night when I posted it is overwhelming,” she said. “The Okotoks community is very loving and supporting.”
Dymond will collect bottles and donations until Oct. 19 and pass them on to the family Oct. 20.
She set up an Ashley Dymond Fire Fund account at the bottle depot and can be reached via Facebook.
