Apartment fire in southwest Calgary sparks arson investigation

Two people were taken into custodyfor questioning after fire crews were called out to battle an early morning blazein southwest Calgary on Wednesday.

Crews were called to the four-storey apartment building in the 800 block of Glenmore Trail at about 4:30 a.m. MT.

Upon arrival crews found a fully involved apartment with flames coming out of the balcony, said Battalion Chief Al Magwood.

Crews evacuated the building, andsomeresidents hadto climb down ladders because the halls were too full of smoke.

One of those residents wasDennis Erford.Firefighters used ladders to rescue him from the second floor, whichwas challenging because he is recovering from breaking his hip a few weeks ago

"Three of them kind of carried me," he said."I was hurting.Very, very sore."

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to one apartment on the second floor and quickly brought it under control with a large volume hose, Magwood said.

Unit gutted

"I was worried somebody maybe got hurt or something like that," said resident James Boyd. "We came out the backdoor and we sawflames shooting out of that apartment building. The whole buildingfour floors."

One out of the 64 units in the building was gutted, while two others suffered minor damage. There was also some smoke damage in the hallways.

Aside from thatthe rest of the building should be fine, Magwood said.

All of the residents,except for the people who live in the badly-damaged suite, have been allowed to return home.

Police took two people into custody to be interviewed by arson investigators. No charges have been laid.

One person was taken to hospital with undetermined injuries.

Calgary Transit buses were brought in to keep residents warm until they can return to the building later this morning.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and may take a while because of the extensive damage in the gutted unit.

Below is video of the fire scene. On mobile? Click here.