Quick-thinking neighbour alerts Saskatoon family to burning home

WATCH: A Saskatoon woman was able to help wake her neighbours when she saw their house caught on fire on Sunday night.

Through the window of her home on the 100 block of Boykowich Bend on Sunday night, Victoria Markovich saw her neighbour’s house up in flames.

She had to act quickly.

“It was a little scary. She has two small kids, so it was frightening...I was able to wake her up. And she came to the door and we got in and got both of the kids out and the rest is history there,” Markovich said.

Markovich says her son first noticed the flames and called 911 around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday while she ran across the street to alert the residents.

“I think I woke up quite a few neighbors, quite a few of the neighbors came out. There was probably about four or five fire trucks ended up here. Ambulance, they did an excellent job, the police were wonderful,” Markovich said.

The Saskatoon Fire Department confirmed no civilians or firefighters were injured in the blaze, which severely damaged two homes.

An investigation has concluded that fire originated in the waste disposal bins between the two houses, but the cause will remain undetermined due to the extent of the damage.

“They [the fire inspector] would have gone through all the debris that was there, got any interviews from any witnesses or footage from cameras or doorbell cameras, stuff like that. It was pretty obvious it started around the garbage can area...and started on the outside of the house, spread through both the roofs of each house,” said Rob Hogan, deputy fire chief.

SFD said damage to both homes totalled $600,000, with $500,000 in damage to one home that took the majority of the damage, and $100,000 in damage to the neighbouring structure.

Neighbours say that while the damage is unfortunate, they’re thankful the situation didn’t escalate further.

“We were happy the wind wasn’t as strong as they have been in the last couple of days, because it could have been very disastrous...It’s going to be a long rebuild for them, sadly. But they’ve got some good support in town,” Markovich said.