As flames began to gnaw at his Fort McMurray home, Ken Bell watched intently from a live home security camera feed.



Bell, an oilfield worker and 30-year resident of the northern Alberta city, recently had a security system installed at his North Parsons home which included a live security camera in the doorbell.



On Tuesday, he watched as firefighters worked feverishly to extinguish flames at the front door of his new home, where he and his two kids have lived for the past two years.



The dramatic footage shows fire crews dousing hotspots on the front porch, and knocking down parts of the entrance as the flames spread quickly to the roof.

After watching the video replay, Bell has a whole new appreciation for what firefighters do in the line of duty.



“They’re amazing,” said the 40-year-old. “Just watching how they go about it, how hard it must be, how fit they are and how knowledgeable they are. When you watch the video, and you see all the things they did to put the fire out and know where to look, it’s pretty impressive. They know what they’re doing.”



Bell said he still has access to the doorbell camera feed and checks it all the time now.



On Monday, the province announced a schedule for evacuees to return home will not be ready for another two weeks. That is welcome news for Bell, who is eager to return and assess the damages.



“I wasn’t expecting to get back before four weeks,” said Bell. “The only thing I would hope, is that there is a window in the next two or three weeks where they actually open it up and let people see their houses and grab some stuff.



“Anything like that would be a big help.”



trobb@postmedia.com



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