Regina house abandoned, used as shelter before it was intentionally set on fire: neighbour

Rose Marie Fachet didn’t know how to take the news that the small white house near hers in the 2100 block of Winnipeg Street was intentionally set on fire earlier in the week, leading to the deaths of two people.

“I thought it would be an accident,” Fachet told Global News.

On Wednesday, Regina Fire and Protective Services responded to a blaze on the street at 12:40 a.m. where they found the bodies of two people on the second floor. A day later, Regina fire announced that it had determined the fire was intentionally set.

“I woke up around one o’clock in the morning and I saw all these lights and I had no idea it was a fire; it was very quiet out there. No yelling or screaming or anything,” Fachet said.

She added that she believed the house was abandoned and used as shelter for some people when it got cold out. She had seen people sleep on the porch and go inside when the weather became inclement.

“I asked the policeman, ‘What are they going to do with this house?’ I sort of suggested, are they going to take it down? and he said, ‘Yes, they are talking about that. The city is going to take it down.’ So, I don’t know what they’re doing, but I do hope they take it down because it’s a danger to everybody and it’s a danger to all the houses in this area (that) are made of wood.”

Regina fire said it’s working with the Regina Police Service and further investigations are underway.

The cause of a separate fire on Dec. 9 that led to the deaths of other two people was also released on Wednesday. Regina fire determined it was caused by overloading an electrical device.

Regina fire said it’s working with the Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan (TSASK) – Electrical Division and the Regina Police Service on further investigation.

“We still have much more investigation left to do, we have trained arson investigators who deal with these sorts of circumstances and the investigation is ongoing,” Leslie Parker with the RPS said.

“Police are asking anyone with any information surrounding these events to contact police, or to contact Crime Stoppers.”