'It's just really tragic': 1 dead in Balmoral Street house fire
Body was found in a back bedroom, fire chief says
The major crimes unit is investigating after one person died in a house fire in the West Broadway neighbourhood Thursday morning.
Firefighters were called to the fire at the bungalow at 256 Balmoral Street around 7:30 a.m.
District 4 fire Chief Bob Ezinicki said the wood-framed home was "fully involved" when crews arrived and the victim was found in a back bedroom.
Ezinicki didn't give the victim's age or gender but did say the person pulled from the home had "succumbed to the fire."
It's not known if the person was alone when the fire broke out.
'Affects the neighbourhood'
Brielle Beardy-Linklater lives two doors down from the gutted home and watched the fire burn from her balcony.
"I've seen a lot of things at that house… a lot of disruption. I've seen police go there several times," she told CBC News.
"It's really sad and it really affects the neighbourhood — things like this are really tragic," said Beardy-Linklater.
"There's people in this neighbourhood that look out for each other and it's just really tragic that this happened."
Ezinicki said the house has "extensive damage."
Police and fire investigators are now looking into the cause, he said.
Corrections
- A previous version of this story indicated police said the victim was found in the back bedroom. In fact, it was the fire chief who said that. A previous version of the story also indicated a police spokesperson confirmed the address was known to police. In fact, that has not been confirmed by a police spokesperson.May 31, 2018 1:34 PM CT
With files from Marianne Klowak and Travis Golby