House fire claims life of 31-year-old P.A. woman

By Jaryn Vecchio

A house fire in Prince Albert’s East Flat area has claimed the life of a 31-year-old woman.

Around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a blaze broke out at a home in the 800 block of 2nd Street East.

Kelly Charles, who lives next door, told paNOW she went outside after hearing sirens and that’s where she saw smoke coming out of the cracks of the structure. According to the Prince Albert Fire Department, the home suffered major damage.

Charles also remembers seeing her neighbour being carried out and having CPR performed on her.

Parkland Ambulance confirmed they responded to the fire and ended up transporting a woman in serious condition to Victoria Hospital after performing CPR. Prince Albert police confirmed that’s where she passed away.

“She’s a good person… very outgoing,” said Charles.

She explained a man also lives in the home, but he was at work at the time.

Charles was also the one who ended up telling the woman’s mother about what had happened.

“She phoned me and asked if I was sure, it was her,” she added.

The Prince Albert Police Service’s Criminal Investigation Division and Forensic Identification Unit are investigating, along with the Office of the Chief Coroner.

Charles thinks it may have been her furnace as she’s recently been without heat in her home after experiencing issues with her own furnace. Both homes are owned by the same landlord.