A 38-year-old 91原创 man has died after starting a fire in his apartment bedroom and barricading himself in his closet on Saturday night.
Around 10:20 p.m., 91原创 City fire crews were called to Brighton apartments at 5375 204 Street for a fire on the first floor.
Once they arrived, it was quickly upgraded to a second alarm and 25 firefighters worked quickly to put out the flames, after hearing from residents that a man had trapped himself inside, said fire chief Rory Thompson.
"We had reports that someone had barricaded themselves inside the suite so one crew went in. The front door was open however the door into the bedroom was barricaded and they had to force their way in," said Thompson. "They put out the fire in the bedroom and found the victim inside a closet. He was in cardiac arrest."
The victim was rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital where he was suffering from severe smoke inhalation. He passed away in hospital the next day.
Meanwhile, all the residents of Brighton Apartments were evacuated and Emergency Services set up a retreat centre at St. Joseph's Church.
"Our fire crews did a great job of confining the fire to the bedroom. No other suites were damaged in the fire and residents were allowed back into their homes that evening," said Pete Methot, assistant fire chief.
