The cause of a fire on Thursday that resulted in significant damage to a home being constructed in Edmonton is under investigation.
The fire broke out at a site in the Holyrood neighbourhood.
A spokesperson for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services confirmed police have been notified about the fire.
A police officer at the scene confirmed that investigators consider the fire “suspicious.” However, in a statement issued late Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Edmonton Police Service said the fire has “no connections to Project Gaslight at this time.” Project Gaslight is a reference to an ongoing series of investigations looking into allegations of extortion attempts targeting homebuilders.
EFRS told Global News that firefighters were called to the blaze in the area of 92nd Avenue and 81st Street at 12:14 a.m. They arrived at the scene six minutes later.
No injuries were reported.
“The fire was called under control at 1:29 a.m. but has not yet been called out,” an EFRS spokesperson said in an email sent just after 8:30 a.m.
“Crews and investigators are finishing their work at the scene.”
Global News spoke to two different people who live in the area who said they have seen a few fires in the area and in surrounding neighbourhoods over the last few weeks, adding they hope investigators get to the bottom of what caused them.
One of the neighbours said the home that caught fire on Thursday was going to include multiple residences.
Police said anyone who has information about the fire can call them at 780-423-4567.
“As the investigation is ongoing, police will be proactively patrolling throughout the affected neighbourhoods and are asking residents to make sure that their doorbell cameras are working and registered,” an EPS spokesperson said. “Residents are also encouraged to enable their motion sensor settings on their doorbell cameras.”