(Lindsay Marie)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

two homes severely damaged

Investigators say cigarette likely cause of Kentwood house fire

Oct 1, 2020 | 12:10 PM

Investigators say the careless disposal of a cigarette was the likely cause of a fire that destroyed a pair of homes in Red Deer’s Kentwood neighbourhood last Sunday.

Red Deer Emergency Services responded at about 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 27 to the fire on Kerr Close that started on the porch of one home before quickly spreading to the other.

Total damage to the homes is estimated to be more than $700,000.

Both families were home when the fire occurred and everyone evacuated safely due to working smoke alarms and after witnesses went door to door.

RDES says the incident is cause to remember a few important fire safety tips:

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• Always dispose of cigarettes in proper containers. Use a deep, sturdy ashtray, not plantpots or other vegetation which can easily catch fire.

• Watch what you heat: unattended cooking is one of the leading causes of home fires.

• Working smoke alarms save lives: check your smoke alarms today.

Meantime, the family of one home is searching for their hairless cat, which went missing in the fire. The cat responds to Otis or Oddy, and may have been sighted in the Glendale area this week. If you see the cat pictured below, call 780-792-4846.

Otis/Oddy, a hairless cat, is believed to be in the Kentwood or Glendale area following a house fire on Kerr Close on Sept. 27. (Supplied)

RELATED: Two families displaced by north end fire on Sunday