Two homes and one garage were completely destroyed by a fire in Red Deer Friday night.
“There were no injuries and everybody was evacuated safely, with the exception of one cat,” said deputy fire chief Chris Kearns.
Firefighters were called to the “fully involved” blaze on Lancaster Drive just after 11 p.m.
Kearns said two families had to be evacuated from their homes – about nine people overall. A few pets were evacuated as well.
“We also evacuated two adjacent homes just for safety. Those folks were allowed to go back in their homes after the fact,” he said.
Fire crews were on scene until about 5 a.m. and investigators were back on scene Saturday morning.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Kearns added.
“It’s obviously very tragic for all the families involved. Hopefully we can determine (the cause),” he said.
GoFundMe fundraising pages have been set up for both families.
One of the pages, titled Kent and Carissa lost their home, says while they and their two children “made it out alive,” they have lost everything.
“This comes at a very bad time as their finances have taken a severe hit because of COVID-19,” GoFundMe page said.
The other fundraising page, titled Family House Fire, says a husband, wife and their teenage daughter suffered the “complete loss of their home” to the fire.
“Thankfully everyone made it out quickly and safely, but didn’t even have time to put on shoes,” the fundraising page said.
“As we are all aware so many people are already struggling during the current pandemic financially, and this family is no different.”
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