Five people, believed to be adults, dead after home burns in Calgary

CALGARY – Five people have died in a house fire in Calgary.

Fire chief Steve Dongworth told reporters from the scene early Saturday morning, May 7, that all five of the victims were believed to be adults but he didn't have information on their identities.

Calgary EMS spokesman Stuart Brideaux says all five of the victims are believed to be male.

Dongworth says the cause of the fire isn't known.

He says flames and smoke were coming from the home when crews arrived and the flames had spread to the house next door.

Dongworth says the residents next door were able to flee their home on their own and weren't injured.

"When crews arrived, there's actually a swing set in the front yard, and the first thing our crews were thinking was that there might have been children in there as well," Dongworth said.

"In this case, we don't believe there's any children. In fact, it's fairly certain these were all adults but that added some stress."

Dongworth said four of the victims were found right away and the fifth was located a short time after.

He said he can't recall the last time the city had so many fatalities in a fire.

Calgary fire crews also responded to a separate fire that happened about an hour earlier where two homes were burned, but no one was injured.

A number of Calgary firefighters are in northern Alberta battling the huge fire in Fort McMurray, but Dongworth said those firefighters are off-duty, and firefighting capability in Calgary hasn't been compromised.