Vancouver police say they do not believe the fire that claimed one person’s life in the Dunbar-Southlands neighbourhood is suspicious.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) Major Crimes Unit spent several hours at the site of the fire on Friday.
“At this point we haven’t found anything to indicate that there was a crime associated to it, or that the fire was suspicious,” said VPD Sgt. Jason Robillard.
“We are still involved in the investigation with Vancouver Fire Rescue arson investigators and the BC Coroners Service.”
WATCH: Viewer video captures deadly house fire
The fire, which happened in the 4100-block of Tytahun Cres. on the Musqueam reserve leasehold land near UBC, broke out around 10 a.m., and was upgraded to a second alarm half an hour later. The fire was extinguished shortly afterwards.
Vancouver Fire Rescue chief Darrell Reid confirmed the person’s death, while noting crews rescued two pets from the home. There are reports that a cat was also killed.
Get daily news
Fire crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to nearby homes and trees, but the home itself was heavily damaged.
The homeowners were out running at the time of the fire. It’s believed the person killed was a tenant who was renting a room from the homeowners. The victim’s identity has not been released, as officials are working on notifying the victim’s family.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by fire crews along with Vancouver police. Fire officials said they don’t believe the cause to be suspicious, but added the number of police on scene was “unusual.”
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services fire investigators continue to probe the cause of the fire, while the BC Coroners Service is investigating the cause of death of the victim.
With files from Sarah MacDonald