By Justin Goulet

UPDATE: Fatal weekend fire deemed accidental

Jul 23, 2019 | 8:58 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – An investigation by Lethbridge Police and Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services has determined that the weekend death of a 50-year-old man was non-criminal.

On Saturday, July 20, fire crews responded to a house fire along the 600 block of 5 Street South. Crews found no visible flames and limited smoke coming from the door to the basement suite.

When firefighters entered the building, they encountered heavy smoke and a small amount of flames. The fire was extinguished, and the male occupant of the suite was found inside. He was taken to the Chinook Regional Hospital in life-threatening condition and died some time later due to his injuries.

A dog was also found deceased in the home. A 24-year-old woman on the main flood escaped the building without suffering any injuries.

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Lethbridge Police revealed on Tuesday morning (July 23) that the fire was accidental and started in the kitchen. An autopsy was done on Monday in Calgary.

LPS stated that there is no evidence suggesting foul play and the incident has been deemed non-criminal, pending toxicology results.

Because the death has been deemed non-criminal, police will not be releasing the name of the victim.

Chief Fire Marshal with Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services, Heath Wright, spoke with media Tuesday morning. He echoed the information provided by Lethbridge Police Services.

“From the investigation, it appears the (victim) was found in the bedroom by our firefighters. He was taken out and transported to the hospital. Our investigators found that the fire originated in the kitchen area,” he said.

“At this time, we’re just trying to rule out whether it was an electrical appliance (cause of the fire) that we can rule out through forensic science and engineering, or if it was actual cooking.”

Wright also spoke on safety measures in secondary suites, as a reminder to the community.

“It’s definitely come to the attention of fire marshals across the province and fire officials that secondary suites need to have safe exiting under emergency situations,” he said.

“So, making sure that your basement suite windows are big enough for people to get through and free of obstruction, also making sure that the exits are free of any obstructions and clear, and making sure that your smoke detectors are all hard-wired and inter-connected.”

He added that there was extensive smoke damage to the suite and most of the damage caused by flames happened in the kitchen.

He said as far as they can see right now, the blaze caused roughly $200,000 to $300,000 of damage.