Man dies of injuries from smoke inhalation in Bowness fire

A man has died of his injuries following a fire in the community of Bowness on Monday.

Emergency crews were called to a residential complex in the 4500 block of 73 Street N.W. just after 7 a.m. When they arrived, firefighters found smoke coming from the balcony of a second-floor apartment.

Firefighters doused the flames, at which time they entered the apartment to find one man inside. Crews began performing CPR on the victim while he was moved outside.

EMS said the victim, believed to be in his 60s, was taken to the Foothills Medical Centre in life-threatening condition suffering from smoke inhalation. Police later said he died in hospital.

Once the fire was extinguished and air-quality checks were completed, residents were allowed to re-enter their suites.

“We cannot speculate on the cause of the fire,” Battalion Chief Stu Laird said in a Monday news release.

Damage was contained to the suite of origin, and Laird said the building was equipped with working smoke alarms, which were going off when crews arrived.