A Tsartlip First Nation family is in mourning after a fire Thursday afternoon claimed the life of a resident there.
Central Saanich fire were called to the fully engulfed trailer on Tsartlip Drive around 4 p.m. on Dec. 29.
Police believe it is a resident of the trailer who died in the fire.Officials could not confirme the source of the fire, or the man’s name or age by press time.
Not long after the fire started, the flames were extinguished by firefighters, but all that remained of the RV was its empty, charred shell parked in the yard of a nearby house. No other buildings or vehicles were affected by the fire.
Emergency services were called in to aid the extended family, some of whom live in a home just steps away.
Sgt. Wayne Conley of Sidney North Saanich RCMP was on the scene at the fire.
“Unfortunately the tragedy here is there is a male … deceased in the fire tonight,” he said. “We’re just trying to gather some information about what took place and I expect that we’ll be here for quite some time gathering information from family and other people that were here at the residence.”
“I do believe there is only the one person in the trailer that is deceased. … There were other people in the area that we have other officers speaking to.”
Neighbours tried to get the man out, but the heat and intensity of the fire thwarted their efforts.
“I understand there were efforts by a neighbour and other people who live in the house nearby but I believe because of the heat and the extent of the fire when it was discovered they were not able to enter. That’s what I learned by talking to a few people.”
Central Saanich fire, RCMP forensic identification and the coroner service were on scene the scene that night and again the next day trying to establish cause of the fire and identification of the man who died.
“It’s being looked at as a sudden death investigation with the contributing factors being the house fire,” Conley said on Friday.
Tsartlip Chief Wayne Morris could not be reached for comment.
Around 750 people live on the Tsartlip First Nation.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com