A family is happy to be alive after watching their southeast Calgary home and two others go up in flames early Wednesday morning.
Nobody was hurt in the fire which started in one home in the 200 block of Deer Run Crescent and spread to two neighbouring homes.
Daryl Miller said he and his family were awoken by their neighbours around 2:30 a.m. when the fire spread to their home.
“We had to get out right away. I managed to grab a pair of pants but two of my kids just had their underwear on. None of us had shoes,” Miller said.
“It was intense. I think it hasn’t really set in yet that we have lost everything. We have nothing left,”
Neighbour Ryan Risling and his wife, Cheryl Ingold, were woken up by the large flames and noise as windows blew out of the enflamed houses.
“Flames were shooting out and the families were running from the homes. It was unbelievable,” Risling said.
Miller and his family were renting the home and their landlord Ron has set up a fund to help the family at the Deer Run Community Centre.
“Their insurance might not cover all the costs,” the landlord told Metro.
The fire department said a space heater under a hot tub was to blame, and initial damage estimates total $800,000 for all three homes.
