Some residents of a St. Albert apartment building pitched in when a children’s play area caught fire Sunday. St. Albert Fire Services told CTV News on Monday that the fire was reported in the daycare play area outside the building on Ryan Crescent at around 10:10 a.m. In a video shared with CTV News Edmonton, one resident can be seen spraying a garden hose off a balcony toward the flames. Ivan Bilovodskyy said he woke up to the sound of fire outside his window. “I started hearing these crackling noises outside my window, I thought it was just rain,” Bilovodskyy said. “Then I woke up and I saw there was a bunch of smoke in my room because my window was open.” Bilovodskyy said his mom grabbed a hose from their balcony garden and started spraying before they had to leave the building. “Me and my mom were trying to be firefighters,” he joked. Officials said the fire started in rubber playground material and the building was evacuated while crews assessed air quality and other conditions caused by the smoke, which could be seen in the sky throughout the area. “The burning rubber produced very thick black smoke, which resulted in concerns about smoke and air quality within the building,” Jeff Austin, deputy chief of operations, said in a statement. “Due to the quick actions of responding fire crews, the fire was rapidly knocked down and kept to the exterior, preventing it from extending into the apartment building.” Trevor Mistal, former president of the Fire Investigation Association of Alberta, said rubber can be dangerous when it burns – before and after. “Any time there’s fire and you see that black smoke, it’s never good,” Mistal said. “These materials, after they burn … the risk hasn’t gone away” he added. “They’ll offgas, depending on the material, for hours or days.” The fire was declared under control at 11 a.m. Officials said most of the damage was limited to the area that caught fire, and that sweeps were done indoors to check for residual smoke and ensure the building was safe before residents returned home. The cause of the fire had not yet been determined as of Monday morning. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug
