An elderly St. Albert man is dead after flames consumed his Grandin-area home Thursday morning.
Crews from three separate St. Albert fire stations rushed to Glenhaven Crescent at about 6:45 a.m. Thursday after a passerby and neighbours reported flames coming from a home’s windows and roof, said fire inspector Les David Mroz. By the time they arrived, the back of the home was engulfed in flames.
“There was reliable information that the homeowner was still inside,” he said.
Three firefighters bashed in the home’s front door using a fire axe and a Halligan tool (a specialized crowbar), ventured into the thick smoke, and retrieved an elderly man from the kitchen, Mroz said. There were no pets in the house, and the homeowner was the only person inside.
The man was transported to the Sturgeon Community Hospital where he died from his injuries.
This is the first time that a person has died in a house fire in St. Albert since 2011 and only the third such death in this city since 2001, Mroz said.
The fire itself was out by about 7:30 a.m., Mroz said. The house is a total loss, with some $500,000 in damages and the roof and insides destroyed. The fact that the front is intact and the neighbouring homes unharmed is a testament to the heavy lumber and stucco construction used in this old house, he said.
Mroz said crews were still working to determine the cause of the fire, but had determined that it was not related to crime or cooking. RCMP have not released the man’s name or cause of death, as they have yet to notify his next-of-kin.
Anyone who sees signs of a fire in St. Albert should call 911.
