S.W. blaze kills disabled mother
Posted Apr 6, 2010 9:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The fire department says an early morning fire that killed a woman, confined to a wheelchair, likely started on the back deck of the home.
They also say the two-alarm blaze did more than $1.4 million in damage to two homes in the Strathcona Park neighbourhood.
The woman’s husband, along with their son, were alerted to the fire by a smoke detector just before 1 a.m. Tuesday morning and tried to get her out of the burning home.
Both men were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
Officials say crews desperately attempted to gain access to the woman. After unsuccessful attempts, firefighters found the woman on a portion of the upper level floor that had collapsed down to the main level.
The fire also ruptured a gas line which acted like a blowtorch and ignited a neighbouring home.
A couple of homes sustained minor damage to the shingles as a result of burning embers that were blown onto the rooftops by the wind.
Fire officials are focusing their investigation on the rear deck of the home. The blaze is not considered suspicious.
