Four St. Albert families are left without a home after a large fire Friday evening at the Grandin Village townhouse complex.

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

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

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

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

“And I was like, ‘oh, that’s a little weird, it looks pretty close,'” Parker said. “And I came out and sure enough, they were right next to here. It looked small and grew very quickly and destroyed everything. »

The City of St. Albert confirmed to CityNews that four homes were affected by the fire, the cause of which is not yet known and remains under investigation. No one was injured in the fire, including pets.

Gould said 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 fire trucks, there were people on the roof, there were almost 75 people around our house outside. It looked like a crime scene, it was very scary,” Gould said.

Parker and Gould say they were only able to salvage a few items before quickly evacuating.

“The clothes on my back, and we had photos, passports. That’s about it,” Gould said.

“We were told we had to act very quickly, collect everything we could, our main belongings, and get out as quickly as possible,” Parker added.

Those who lost their homes must now wait. They can’t go inside and see what, if anything, is left, or salvage any belongings that might have survived the fire.

“Thank God I got all the animals out, kids and everything. We have a lot of antiques that we’ve passed down from generation to generation that are probably lost, yes,” Parker said.

“It’s very disturbing, it’s upsetting,” Gould added. “We don’t know what we’re going to do, or where we’re going, or how long we have to stay where we’re going. We’re just trying to be there for each other and get through it. We are quite panicked.

Both homeowners say the next steps will be to wait for their insurance companies to assess the situation and find housing for their family.

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

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

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