WESTLOCK – RCMP continue to investigate a pair of residential house fires, including the March 6 blaze that destroyed a 107th Street home and sent two people to hospital.
Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird said April 7 that the investigation into that fire, as well as a mid-December blaze that destroyed a Vimy-area home, remain active, although he did not give a definitive timeline for when they’ll be done.
“There are still other reports that need to be done … they’re active and open but there’s nothing to update on,” said Baird.
RCMP were called to a house fire in the southeast part of Westlock County near Vimy around 12:10 p.m., Dec. 18, 2021, and found a stolen vehicle on the property. During the investigation police were told by the property owner that their vehicle had also been stolen but was later recovered by police in Edmonton. Baird said previously that an excavator was needed to break through the walls to get to the fire, “so the home was pretty much destroyed.”
“Can we prove who it is, and did they commit arson, or what exactly happened?” said Baird back in January. “So, we’re compiling all the evidence and there’s lab work being done and we’re following up on leads.
County manager of protective services John Biro said previously in an e-mail that, “a subsequent investigation determined a burglary took place while nobody was home.”
107th Street fire
RCMP have worked with an out-of-town fire investigator to try and determine the cause of the March 6 fire that razed a 107th Street home.
Around 4 a.m. that day, emergency crews were called to the scene of the fire and although all four people inside were able to get out, two were sent to hospital with undisclosed injuries.
In a March 6 interview, Town of Westlock fire chief Stuart Koflick said when they arrived, they observed flames coming from the back of the house and attacked the fire there. Although the blaze was out within an hour, they remained on scene for hours dealing with hot spots.
“We’ve taken witness statements, now we need to confirm it through the fire investigation. Was it an accident, was it negligence?” said Baird in a March 11 follow-up interview. “And if it’s negligence, does it push it up to charges provincially or criminally, or not? Those are the things that we have to determine through that investigation.”
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