Arson investigators on scene after one man dies, three others rescued from Mission rooming house fire

Stephane Massinon, Bryce Forbes and Meghan Potkins, Calgary Herald 


The arson and homicide units are investigating the death of a man found inside a burning boarding house in Mission Wednesday night.
Police say they are treating the incident as suspicious.

Around 9:30 p.m., emergency services responded to the 300 block of 25th Avenue S.W., arriving to find heavy smoke pouring from the two-storey structure and three men on the rooftop calling for help.
"Fire crews did encounter flames and smoke coming from the building when they arrived," said fire department spokesman Jayson Doyscher.

"With the individuals on the roof, there was obviously indications to them that there was a large fire inside the building."

The threesome on the roof, all men in their late 20s and early 30s, were rescued by a ladder crew but firefighters found a fourth man unconscious in a second-storey bedroom.

The man, believed to be in his early 20s, was rescued from the home and transported by paramedics to the Foothills Medical Centre.

“He was in critical condition when EMS arrived. He did succumb to his injuries when they arrived to the hospital despite numerous advanced live-saving measures done by EMS while they were transporting,” said a spokesperson for EMS.

A fifth person was also in the house at the time, but got out before firefighters arrived. He later asked to be checked over by EMS for smoke inhalation and was transported to hospital for evaluation.
The fire was quickly extinguished.

There are seven rooms in the boarding house and different agencies rent them out.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.
The two-storey house is still standing. A second level window is smashed out near the back of the home and the siding around it is blackened from the incident. Three windows on the front end of the home are also broken.

Neighbours say they believe the rooms in the property were rented out at low cost for the homeless. New residents came and left regularly.

During the summer, they were often seen having fires in a backyard fire pit and would often yell at people walking nearby.

"They're not bad people, they just needed a place to stay," said resident Lance Duan.

"Now I don't know where they are going to stay."
A damage estimate has not been released.


