WESTLOCK – Westlock RCMP are working with an out-of-town fire investigator to determine the cause of an early-morning, March 6 blaze that destroyed a 107th Street home and sent two people to hospital.
Staff Sgt. Al Baird said March 11 he expects results of the investigation, which started March 8, to be back in his hands within a month — Town of Westlock fire chief Stuart Koflick is not doing the investigation.
“The RCMP will work with the fire investigator and if there’s anything that leads to a criminal matter, then we’ll investigate it further and if it turns out not to be, then that will be it,” said Baird. “We’ve taken witness statements, now we need to confirm it through the fire investigation. Was it an accident, was it negligence? 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.”
Emergency crews were called to the scene of the house fire around 4 a.m., March 6 — although all four people inside the 107th Street residence were able to get out, two were sent to hospital with undisclosed injuries. Baird said the last he heard one was out of hospital, while the other remains in critical condition.
“It’s going to take at least a month for the investigation to be done, but I’m hoping it will be done before that,” he added.
In a March 6 interview, 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.
