An 11-year-old girl has died from injuries she suffered in a cooking oil fire in a north Edmonton home Sunday night.
The girl and her older brother were rushed to hospital in serious condition after the fire started at around 9:30 p.m. near 93 Street and 178 Avenue in the Lago Lindo neighbourhood.
The children were found in their bedrooms and had to be removed from the home, Edmonton Fire Rescue said. Firefighters started CPR on scene before EMS arrived.
READ MORE: 2 teens in serious condition after cooking oil fire in north Edmonton home
The two were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. A man in the home was also taken to hospital with injuries to his airway and carbon monoxide poisoning. A woman escaped without any injuries.
The boy remains in hospital in critical condition.
Neighbour Mark Williams said he called 911 and ran outside.
“I run next door and the neighbours are at their front door and they’re really upset, and the smoke is just piling out of the door and they don’t know where the kids are. They were just screaming, ‘the kids are upstairs!’” he said.
“You couldn’t dare go inside the house because it was just black.”
Williams said a family was inside the house when the fire broke out.
“They were upset. Their house is on fire but more importantly, their grandchildren were in there and they couldn’t get them out,” he said. “We were just trying to keep them calm and reassuring them.”
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Officials said the fire was caused by overheated cooking oil, which was left unattended for a few minutes. The kitchen and main floor sustained heavy fire damage, which was not visible from the exterior of the home.
Fire Chief Ken Block said crews were able to hold the fire to the kitchen and got it under control within 20 minutes. However, he said a lot of smoke was generated.
“Within a couple of minutes, the atmosphere will be untenable and that means the oxygen levels are depleted and smoke displaces oxygen and it won’t support life. So you’re in a big problem if you’re unaware and overcome by smoke—you need assistance right away.”
Edmonton Fire Rescue said in 2016, there were 69 overheated cooking oil fires, which resulted in 42 civilian and seven firefighter injuries, as well as six civilian deaths.
– With files from Karen Bartko and Caley Ramsay