More than 500 people evacuated in a fatal downtown apartment fire Thursday are slowly being allowed to return home.
One person died and another was injured when fire broke on the seventh floor of the Oliver Place building near Jasper Avenue and 118th Street just before 7 p.m.
Ninety firefighters battled the blaze. A stretch of Jasper Avenue was closed to aid in the evacuation effort.
When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting out from a corner suite balcony. A thick black plume of smoke billowing out from the 17-storey apartment tower could be seen from blocks away.
Jakie Ng was driving by when he saw the commotion. He pulled over and began filming the panicked scene with his camera phone.
“I looked up and there was this massive, massive fire shooting out of the windows,” Ng said in an interview with CBC News.
“The fire trucks were just arriving as I began shooting. You could definitely hear somebody screaming off a balcony, but it was distant, and there was a big crowd forming.
“It’s definitely one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen go on downtown.”
One dead in apartment fire in downtown Edmonton0:16
Officials have not provided details on the identity of the person who died.
On Friday morning, emergency services spokesperson Kristi Bland said most people have returned to their suites, with the exception of some residents on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors.
Five suites were damaged by fire, smoke and water. Others near the area of the building where the fire started still need to be assessed before residents will be allowed to return.
The Canadian Red Cross is assisting 10 people with accommodations, food and clothing. Others displaced in the fire have found alternate accommodations with friends and family.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Fire damage visible Apt bldg #yeg Jasper Ave/118 st – 1 person died, 1 injured. #cbc pic.twitter.com/HRASPUJybz