One person is dead after a house fire in Alberta Beach on Tuesday night.
Fire crews from Northwest Fire Rescue were called to the house on 47 Street shortly after 9:30 p.m.
The fire department arrived on scene within five minutes. Fire chief David Ives said the main floor was heavily engulfed in fire and flames were shooting from the second-floor windows.
Private suppliers were also called to bring additional water to the scene.
Firefighters entered the home to begin an interior battle, and search for anyone who might be in the house, as bystanders weren’t able to say if the house was occupied.
Ives said a man was found unconscious inside the house. Firefighters performed CPR but were unable to revive the man.
Kim Zackodnik owns the diner kitty corner to the house and came down to the area after receiving a phone call about the fire. At the time, she didn’t know what was on fire and was worried about her business.
She said the fire spread very quickly.
“When I came down the flames were not visible but just shortly after I opened the door to the restaurant it was shooting out of the roof,” Zackodnik said.
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She saw the emergency crews performing CPR on the man, who RCMP said was 40 years old. Zackodnik didn’t know the man’s name but said he was a regular at the restaurant.
“He would come pretty much daily for his lunch. Very nice gentleman,” she said. “Always friendly… always had a smile on his face. He was a very nice man.”
Alberta Beach Mayor Jim Benedict said the man was renting the home. Neighbours told Global News he had lived in the house for about a year, and was fairly quiet. The man’s name has not been released.
Two cats lived in the house. Ives said one was rescued, but the other did not survive.
The fire was under control by 10:45 p.m. and declared out shortly after 11:10 p.m.
One fire truck and several firefighters remained on scene at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Alberta Beach is located about an hour west of Edmonton.
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