INNISFAIL, Alta. – RCMP have arrested a man for deliberately lighting a fire in the Innisfail Hotel.
RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said in a Nov. 28 media release that Innisfail RCMP received a report of a fire at the Innisfail Hotel at 3:25 a.m. on Nov. 26.
Savinkoff said when RCMP and Innisfail Fire Department crews arrived at the scene investigators ensured the building was evacuated.
“There was a lot of smoke, and it had to be evacuated,” said Savinkoff, adding the fire was confined to one hotel residential room. “In this particular case a couple of residents, once they observed it, actually forced their way into the hotel room to shoot up fire extinguishers at the fire, which probably assisted greatly in keeping the building intact.”
Savinkoff added that no one was in the room when hotel residents burst into the room to put out the fire. He said there was minimal damage to the room.
He said no injuries were reported from the fire.
Savinkoff said it was “pretty clear” by investigators that the fire was started from a source that was “not natural.
“It was an object in the hotel room that was lit on fire,” said Savinkoff.
As a result of the investigation, RCMP arrested a resident of the hotel in a nearby room, said Savinkoff.
He said RCMP have charged 40-year-old Joshua James Allen of no fixed address with arson and mischief.
Allen has been remanded in custody with his next court appearance date set for Nov. 28 at Red Deer provincial court.