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UPDATED: Fire crews rescue residents from St. Albert apartment fire

Once outside, resident Saleem Han said he saw three girls yelling for help from the balcony, and watched as firefighters leaped into action to rescue them from the blaze.

This story has been updated to include information from the St. Albert RCMP.

Fire crews from St. Albert and Spruce Grove conducted a dramatic balcony rescue in St. Albert early Wednesday morning after a multi-family apartment complex caught fire.

Five people were taken to hospital with unknown injuries.

Firefighters and St. Albert RCMP were dispatched to the call around 1 a.m. May 27 to the Gateway Square apartments on Grange Drive in the Grandin neighbourhood.

Flames shot up from the roof metres into the air, with smoke billowing from a third-floor suite toward the back of the building.

When RCMP arrived and learned there were several people still inside the building, police officers went in despite the extremely dangerous conditions. 

Officers went door-to-door in the smoke-filled hallways on all floors to tell residents to evacuate. RCMP also assisted two people who were unable to get out on their own as their units were engulfed in flames.

All officers were assessed by paramedics on scene, and one officer was taken to an ambulance for smoke inhalation before being released.

Cpl. Renee Murphy, St. Albert watch commander, said in a press release she was "very proud" of the St. Albert RCMP officers who "worked tirelessly to save residents and property."

As part of their response, St. Albert Fire Services rescued some people from a balcony using a ladder bucket, taking one person down at a time.  

“The guys did an amazing job on the backside getting people off (the balcony),” said Steve Ganton of the St. Albert Fire Department.

Twenty-five out of the 28 suites in the building were affected by the fire, Ganton said. It took a few hours to put out the blaze, and crews returned to the scene later in the morning to ensure there were no remaining hotspots. The extent of damage is unknown but includes several suites and a portion of the roof.

All residents were evacuated immediately from the building and some were temporarily placed at the St. Albert Inn & Suites located nearby.  

“Everyone is displaced right now, and the company has done an awesome job trying to find places for them,” Ganton said.

Saleem Han lives on the third floor of the apartment complex with his wife and two young children, across the hall from the suite where the fire is believed to have started. When he first smelled the smoke, he opened the door to his apartment to a smoke-filled hallway.

Reacting quickly, he pulled the fire alarm, gathered his family and got out of the building safely.

“I opened my door and the smoke all came into my apartment. I knew we had to get out,” Han said.

Once outside, Han said he saw three girls yelling for help from the balcony, and watched as firefighters leapt into action to rescue them from the blaze.

From their ground-floor suite, Denise Sloan said she saw a family rushing down the stairs yelling and screaming with their children wrapped in blankets, and then heard the alarm go off. She then woke up her daughter Chelsea, who quickly grabbed their cat and ran out of the building.

Once outside, they could see the flames stretch up into the air from the front of the apartment complex. They went to go stay with Denise’s son, who lives in the apartment building behind Gateway Square with a view of the balconies.

“One lady was stuck on the third floor, and they had to get a ladder. She was screaming,” Chelsea said.

Realizing the door would be locked on the outside of the building, the family put some cinder blocks down to hold open the front doors for fire crews to enter, Denise said.

“My son decided we need to get the blocks so those guys could get in. They thanked him a lot,” Denise said.

The two left their home with nothing but their cat and the clothes on their back. Firefighters were able to go inside and return some items of clothing to them, but it’s unclear when they will be allowed back inside.

“I’m still blocking it out right now,” Chelsea said, sitting on the curb outside of the building. “I haven’t let it sink in yet.”

St. Albert Fire Investigators and the St. Albert RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) are investigating the cause of the fire. 

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