‘Why did this happen to us’: Four St. Albert families displaced after massive fire

Four St. Albert families are left without a home after a large blaze at the Grandin Village townhouse complex on Friday night.

Crews were called around 8:44 p.m. – 24 St. Albert firefighters and 18 Edmonton firefighters were needed to battle the blaze.

“It’s terrifying. It’s destructive,” said Hanson Gould, whose home was damaged in the fire. “What’s really going on inside, how did this happen? Why did this happen to us?

“I’m still in shock, just looking at our home, and not knowing when we’ll be able to go back inside.”

Matt Parker, whose home was also damaged, tells CityNews his family was relaxing at home when they saw fire trucks “screaming up the road.”

“And I thought, ‘oh, that’s kind of weird, it sounds kind of close,’” Parker recounted. “And I went outside and sure enough they were right on the block here. It looked small and got big very fast and destroyed everything.”

The City of St. Albert confirmed to CityNews that four homes were impacted by the fire, the cause of which is not yet known and is under investigation. Nobody was injured in the fire, including pets.

Gould says he and his family were at a football game when they received a phone call.

“We got home around 9:45, there were six or seven firetrucks, there were people on the roof, there was almost 75 people around our house outside. It looked like a crime scene, it was very scary,” Gould said.

Both Parker and Gould say they were able to grab just a few items before quickly evacuating.

“The clothes on my back, and we got some pictures, passports. That’s about it,” Gould said.

“We were told that we gotta move very fast, and just grab anything we could, our major belongings, and get out as quick as we could,” Parker added.

Those who have lost their homes are now left to wait. They are not able to go inside and see what, if anything, remains, or retrieve belongings that may have survived the fire.

“Thank God, got all the pets and kids and everything out. We have a lot of antiques that we have handed down generation to generation that are probably lost, yeah,” Parker said.

“It’s very unsettling, it’s unnerving,” added Gould. “We don’t know what we’re going to do or where we’re going to go, or how long we need to stay where we’re going to go. We’re just trying to be there for each other and get by. We’re pretty freaked out.”

Both homeowners say the next steps are to wait for their insurance companies to assess the situations, and to find their families a place to live.

Amid the tragedy and uncertainty, they say the community has rallied around them.

“Amazing. A lot of people have been coming forward to try to help us out, and it’s very appreciated,” said Parker.

“There were people here last night, wrapping us in blankets, that I’d never even seen before,” added Gould. “The drinks, the camaraderie, anybody and everybody that lives in this area is willing to help. They were there for us, and I just couldn’t be thankful enough for what I’ve seen.”