Fire crews douse hotspots at a home which caught fire Monday afternoon. (CHAT News photo)

By Alex McCuaig

A common concern

Issues with single road into Saamis Heights highlighted by house fire

Sep 29, 2020 | 4:50 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The single road into the Saamis Heights subdivision is a chronic complaint among those who live in the neighbourhood of several thousand residents. Monday’s fire which saw a fire hose draped across the four-lane Sierra Boulevard to tackle a blaze on Sunrise Court has only exasperated the issue.

The roadway was only closed temporarily but it came as the nearby École Les Cyprès – the city’s only French-only school – was about to let out, leaving parents scrambling to pick up their kids while cutting off access into and out of the community.

It’s an issue many in the subdivision have been raising for years.

One of those complaining for years is long-time resident Larry Brown, who lives next to the Sunrise Court home which was heavily damaged by Monday’s fire.

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“We were doing this before they added a school here,” said Brown. “Now they got a school here so guess what? Yesterday at 2:30 and there were kids getting ready to come out of the school – how do they get home? I mean, this is how ridiculous it is.”

Brown says the single road into the community can be blocked by accidents at the busy intersection of Sierra Boulevard and South Ridge Drive, which can cause delays if a fire breaks out at the same time.

If that occurred on Monday, “there would be nothing left of that house,” he said.

Kent Synder, the city’s general manager of planning and development, says a second access point is part of the larger area development plan.

“The timing is based on private developers because the land is owned privately to the south of Saamis Heights,” said Snyder. “The city won’t be the barrier to capacity or for people wanting to develop. It’s more the market and a developer seeing an opportunity to proceed with development in that area.”

The originally planned Cimarron sub-division for that area has been plagued by issues over the years, including its first proponent Medican which became insolvent.

Merrick Brown, the city’s emergency manager, says Monday’s incident is currently under review by officials.