One dead in Edmonton group home fire

A woman died when a fire ripped through an Edmonton group home for people with special needs Thursday night.

Two residents and two staff members, who were in the bungalow when the blaze broke out around 8:30 p.m. MT, managed to escape. The identity of the victim, whowas trapped in the basement,was not released.

Thegroup home, in the Gold Bar area at 50th Street and 106th Avenue,has a wheelchair-accessible ramp leading to the front door.

Lyndon Nemutabwe,one of the first to spot smoke in the area while jogging with a friend,said he saw people scrambling out of the building shouting for help.

"Me and my friend tried to get in through the front door, but it was just too smoky and darkand we couldn't even get in."

Nemutabwe said he smashed ina basement window where the woman was trapped.

"I spoke to her until the emergency guys came. She was saying she had a headache and just wanted to get out ofthere."

When firefighters tried to get inside, they also were beaten back by flames.

Fire department spokeswoman Nikki Booth said three firefighters made it down to the basement, but there was a flashover. The hot temperatures melted parts of their helmets and completely blackened their visors, so they had to get out as soon as possible, she said.

"They had to crawl using a hose as their guide in a very darkened environment."

Afterfirefightersgot the fire under control, the woman's body was pulled out of the basement, where investigators believe the blaze started.