Saskatoon firefighters responded shortly after noon Friday to reports of a large house fire on the 400 block of Geary Crecent. Crews arrived in just under six minutes to heavy black smoke and at least one home fully in flames in the Hampton Village neighborhood on the city’s northwest. Four homes are destroyed with two others damaged.

“This is a devastating loss for these families,” says Deputy Fire Chief Sean Thody. “To see four houses burn is never a good thing. Our hearts go out to the families that have lost their homes.”

Recognizing the intensity of the fire, a second alarm was immediately called. In all, 32 firefighters responded to the scene including two aerial trucks, four engines, a rescue engine, safety officer, battalion chief and deputy chief.

“I want to commend the crews for the tremendous stop they made and that we are not in a worse situation than we are now.”

Thody says winds were over 30 Km/h, the temperature was above 30 degrees and the relative humidity was around 30 per cent.

“That’s never a good recipe for fire. When it gets started in those optimal conditions it’s very complicated to get it under control.”

Crews battled the flames for about two-and-a half hours until they had it in hand. Six back-alley garages have also been destroyed. A fire also started in a home across the street but firefighters quickly had it doused.

There are no reports of injures to residents, pets or firefighters. Emergency Management Organization used notifynow to inform area residents of the disruption in the immediate vicinity that would impact Transit routes, school pick-ups and local traffic.

Fire Inspectors will investigate as soon as the area is safe. Crews remain on scene to put out any spot fires.

(The drone photos below are courtesy of the Saskatoon Fire Department)

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