Fatal Point Douglas fire not an arson: police

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/10/2018 (2507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police say the fire in Point Douglas early Friday, in which a woman and her granddaughter were killed, was not caused by an arsonist.

Following the blaze, there was suspicion it may have been caused by arson, but on Sunday, police issued a news release stating that major crimes investigators had determined the fire “is believed to be non-criminal in nature.”

The two-storey house at 68 Prince Edward St. was engulfed in flames – with smoke pouring out every window and door – by the time fire crews arrived at 2:25 a.m. It was realized it was not safe for firefighters to enter the home, even though there were two people inside.

Residents identified the two fatalities as grandmother Maria Klaric and her 11-year-old granddaughter, who lived across the street with her mother, one of Klaric’s daughters.

Neighbours called 911 after being roused in the middle of the night by screaming in the backyard of the house around 2 a.m.

“My parents looked out the back window and they noticed there was a fire because everything was orange,” said one woman.

Two occupants of the home, who had managed to escape, were transported to hospital. One individual, a 54-year-old female, was transported in critical condition, while the other, a 17-year-old male, was transported in unstable condition. Both were later upgraded to stable condition.

There was speculation the fire was caused by arson because four small fires were started in the neighbourhood that morning.

Police said Sunday they arrested a 16-year-old male in connection with the fires: two were mattress fires in the 100 block of Euclid Avenue, there was a blaze in a detached garage in the 100 block of Lorne Avenue and the fourth blaze involved a chair on a porch in the 100 block of Granville Street.

The suspect was arrested a short time later. 

Police said Sunday the male is a suspect in relation to an incident on July 27, when a number of liquor bottles were stolen from a Manitoba Liquor Mart in the 1600 block of Main Street.

The male faces four counts of arson and theft. The accused, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, was detained in custody.