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January 21, 2015 - 2:26 PM
CHASE – Even with a team of investigators looking into the the Jan. 16 mobile home fire that left one woman dead, the community fire chief says the structure was so badly burned the cause could not be confirmed.
“It will have to be written up as undetermined,” Chase fire chief Brian Lauzon said.
Apart from local RCMP and fire rescue, Lauzon said the major crime unit from Kelowna, the arson investigation team, and the fire commissioner from Victoria examined the scene at the Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park.
Lauzon said investigators suspected the cause of the fire may have been a space heater or a stove, but there was insufficient evidence. There was no natural gas connected to the mobile, Lauzon said.
Earlier this week, Chase RCMP confirmed with Infonews.ca there is no criminal link to the fire.
The trailer was an older model constructed with several man-made products, which Lauzon said made it incredibly flammable. Given the high amount of damage he said after the woman’s body was retrieved, the roof of the home was removed to allow investigators access.
“Unfortunately they burn very hot and fast,” Lauzon said. He added newer models are made with better products that don’t burn as quickly and allow heat to dissipate throughout the structure.
The B.C. Coroner’s Service has not released the deceased’s name.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.