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A barbecue left on and unattended in a backyard started a residential fire in Edmonton’s Rutherford community Saturday morning, forcing the evacuation of 11 people and causing approximately $1.8 million in damages.

Fire Investigator Joe Koreman said someone living in a triplex in the 1500 block of Rutherford Road SW turned his barbecue on to clean it on his back deck.

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He went inside, forgetting about the barbecue which heated up and started a fire on the deck.

Firefighters were called at about 1:15 a.m., but couldn’t prevent the fire from spreading to the duplex next door. Jerry Campbell, who lives in the duplex, said he woke to the smell of smoke, looked out back and saw the entire backyard of the neighbouring triplex in flames.

When he emerged from his garage door, Campbell said firefighters told him to get out and move his truck to safety.