An elderly man was found dead inside a north Edmonton home Friday morning after crews arrived to battle a house fire.
Emergency crews were called to the house in the Beaumaris neighbourhood at around 9:40 a.m.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said a home-care worker arrived at the home in the area of 98 Street and 156 Avenue, saw smoke and called 911.
“We have no idea how long it was going; there wasn’t a lot of smoke coming to the outside,” said district fire chief Leonard Mushtuk with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services. “There was a tremendous amount of heat inside.”
One person, whose identity has not been released, was found dead. No one else was home at the time.
The son and daughter-in-law of the victim spoke to Global News. They declined to release his name but said he lived alone and would have turned 85 next week. They said he had cancer and his wife died four years ago.
Neighbours told Global News the man had home-care staff come by the house about once a week.
“I was really stunned,” said Marg, a neighour who lives across the street from where the fire occurred. “It is a loss… they were very good neighbours.”
“(He) was a great fellow,” she added. “He always said he wouldn’t move out. He would live in his house.”
Another neighbour said the victim wasn’t seen much in the cold winter months but was a fixture in the neighbourhood in the summer.
“We used to see him in the summertime sitting on his driveway, in his chair, just chilling,” Fatima said. “It’s a really sad day for the neighbourhood.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although fire crews do not believe it was suspicious in nature.
Mushtuk said the medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death of the victim.
Fire crews remained at the scene throughout most of the day.
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