The cause of a $300,000 fire on Tuesday at a Deer Park home that left a man badly burned remains undetermined, although arson is not suspected.
“We were not able to zero in on anything at this point,” said Wes Van Bavel, of Red Deer Emergency Services.
A private investigator joined fire department investigators on scene on Wednesday and the investigation continues into the blaze, which is considered accidental.
The split-level home was badly damaged in the fire, which happened around 4:30 p.m.
A 69-year-old man who lived in a basement secondary suite was airlifted by STARS to Calgary’s Foothills Hospital for treatment on Tuesday. An update on his condition was not available on Wednesday.
Another resident, who lives upstairs, was not at home at the time of the fire.
Van Bavel said the home was equipped with hard-wired smoke alarms, but the damage was too great to the basement alarm to say with certainty that it was working.
The fire department plans to go door-to-door today to talk with neighbours and discuss the incident and provide a fire safety message.
When the cause of a fire is known, the department will pass that information on to residents to provide a safety reminder.
“We want to give them as much (information) as we can and maybe dispel some of the gossip or talk around the neighbourhood (and say) here’s what happened, and here’s what didn’t happen.”
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com