Cranbrook house fire death

Cranbrook house fire claims 83 year old victim.

Cranbrook RCMP.

The Cranbrook Fire Department was called to the scene of a house fire on Jim Smith Lake Road, shortly after midnight on February 3rd. Also attending were the Cranbrook RCMP and the B.C. Ambulance Service.

On arrival, they were advised that there had been two occupants inside the house when the fire broke out, a married couple, both in their 80s. The female managed to escape the residence, but her husband, who is an amputee, couldn’t, despite the efforts of their son who arrived on the scene and pulled his father through a bedroom window. Further efforts by the Fire Department First Responders and the B.C. Ambulance crew were not successful in reviving the victim, who may have succumbed to smoke inhalation.

The victim has been identified as 83 year old Claude Thompson. Cranbrook Victim Services are offering support to the family.

The Cranbrook Fire Department and an RCMP arson investigator returned to the scene later in the morning and have determined that the fire started in the area of a wood burning stove in the house. The B.C Coroner’s Service has been called in to investigate the death, but it is not considered suspicious at this time.

Cranbrook
February 3, 2010
Cranbrook RCMP File # Cranbrook 2010-820