A 17-year-old male is facing arson charges after a garage fire in Lacombe early Saturday morning.
Lacombe Police, the Lacombe and Blackfalds fire departments and paramedics responded at about 1 a.m. to a house on 51st Street.
Its garage was completely engulfed in flames, causing $200,000 damage to the residence and $25,000 to the neighbouring house, according to Lacombe Police Sgt. Robert Rauckman. There was no one home at the time of the fire.
Rauckman said the sound of unknown exploding contents in the garage awoke neighbours to the south.
Beverley Beckley lives across the street. The blaze woke her up and caused her to get out her camera to take a few pictures.
“It’s a little scary, to have one so close to you,” Beckley said Monday.
“(Firefighters) got it under control quick. There was smoke pouring out of it for a while, and they have a tin roof on that house. So they had to cut into the roof with their big ladder truck and I guess, check to make sure it was fully extinguished.”
The youth was arrested on Sunday morning and charged with two counts of arson and one count of mischief. He’s been remanded into custody until a scheduled appearance in Red Deer provincial court on Thursday.
mgauk@www.reddeeradvocate.com
