Red Deer City RCMP say arson is the cause of an early-morning blaze that demolished three homes and damaged two others on Sisson Avenue on Friday.
Fire investigators turned the investigation over to RCMP after looking for another cause throughout the weekend, said Cpl. Kathy DeHeer, media liaison with the Red Deer City RCMP.
“If they handed it over to the police for investigation, it would be deemed an arson,” she said.
“If they keep it, generally, it might be a furnace malfunction or something like that, but once it goes to the police they have deemed it to be nothing mechanical.”
Fire investigator Bob Boudreau confirmed that their investigation has been turned over to the RCMP.
“We did what we had to do and we gathered what we had to, and it’s all RCMP now,” he said on Tuesday, adding that the cause was determined on Monday afternoon.
Damage to the homes is likely to be more than $1 million.
The inferno originated from a home under construction and spread to two homes on either side in Red Deer’s Southbrook neighbourhood. All the occupants made it out safely and no injuries were reported.
Red Deer Emergency Services platoon chief Randy Kidd said crews arrived on scene — in the residential area in southeast Red Deer — after getting the call shortly after 3 a.m.
The middle house, which was under construction and estimated to be worth about $400,000 upon completion, was fully engulfed in flames.
The fire spread to two relatively new, two-storey homes, one on each side.
Red Deer RCMP arrived a short time later and assisted with the evacuation of people in neighbouring residences.
RCMP are asking for the public’s assistance in determining the cause of the blaze.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Red Deer City RCMP at 403-343-5575.
If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or visit www.tipsubmit.com. If the information leads to an arrest, tipsters are eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.