3 houses catch fire in Arbour Lake, crews on scene

Calgary'sfire department is on scene in Arbour Lake where three houses caught fire early Sunday morning.

Paul Frederick, battalion chief with the Calgary Fire Department, said crews were called to the northwest Calgary community around 4:30 a.m., Sunday, after receiving a number of phone calls about the firesand reports of explosions.

He said three structuresand multiple vehicles had caught fire, in the 200 block of Arbour Crest Drive, which may have been the source of the exploding sounds.

It's believed there was one source of the fire, which spread to the other homes.

Agustin Salinassaid he was woken up by a call from his parents, and he rushed over to their home immediately.

"I got a call at like 5 a.m., from my dad just saying everything is on fire. Come over," he said.

"When I got here we had six or seven fire trucks around the corner, it was quite a show."

Salinassaid his mom broke two bones in her rush to flee the home.

His 15-year-old brother Valentin woke up the family and got them to safety.

"Honestly if it wasn't for him right now, I don't know what would have happened."

Valentinsaid he woke up to the smell outside his window.

"I was like, who's making barbecue at this time?"

He stuck his head out the window, saw the flames and immediately woke everyone up and told them to meet outside of the home.

Salinas said the Red Cross will put the family up in a hotel, and get them new clothes and food for a few days.

Fire crews and investigators will be on scene all day, working to determine the cause of the fire, Frederick said.

Eight people were safely evacuated from the homes, and the fires have been extinguished.