Firefighters battle large house fire just north of downtown Edmonton

Firefighters were seen battling a large house fire in north-central Edmonton on Thursday night.

The blaze is believed to have broken out sometime after 9 p.m. in the area of 107 Avenue and 104 Street, just a few blocks north of Rogers Place.

Alysia Mitic lives nearby and said she went out to walk her dog at about 9 p.m. when she saw the blaze.

“I heard some commotion and looked and one girl was coming out of the basement stairs,” Mitic said, adding she then went to call 911. Shortly after, she said a pair of peace officers rode up on their bikes and at that point a girl safely jumped through a window.

“Glass kind of flew and you could see smoke behind her and within seconds, a guy came out behind her,” Mitic said, adding it appeared a second house may have also caught fire.

“It was pretty crazy. This neighbourhood’s got a lot of action definitely but to see a fire go in zero to seven minutes — two houses, a tree,” she said.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, something’s gonna blow.'”

A fire official told Global News two people received medical treatment at the scene but they were not taken to hospital. Their conditions were unknown. Firefighters did not find anyone else when they completed a sweep of the houses.

An apartment complex just south of the two houses at the scene was evacuated as a precaution but residents have since been allowed to return.

Both of the houses damaged in the fire have “for sale” signs in front of them.

Plumes of smoke could be seen drifting over the central part of the city from the fire. At least one house appeared to have sustained extensive damage.

“The flames were incredible… almost like a fire tornado,” James Smith, a witness to the fire said.

Fire officials told Global News crews arrived at the scene within three minutes of the initial 911 call but firefighting efforts were hampered by tall trees and power lines. It took about 20 minutes for firefighters to get the blaze under control.

“When our crews arrived, the intensity of the flames made that initial exterior attack challenging,” Acting District Chief William Chabaniuk said.

Watch below: RAW VIDEO: Firefighters were called to battle a blaze in the area of 107 Avenue and 104 Street in Edmonton on Thursday night.