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Body found in house fire

Alanna Kelly

UPDATE: 12:40 p.m.

Neighbours living beside the Rutland home where a body was discovered after a fire broke out say there was suspicious activity from the four people living there.

Fran and Will Kennedy said two men and one woman were living downstairs, and one man was living upstairs. They all appeared to be 20 to 30 years old.

“The young guy upstairs at times acted funny,” said Will. “He would leave early every morning and a couple times after he’d gone, the front door was wide open.

“The last time was around the 4th or 5th ... I just went over, stuck my head in and hollered. There was no answer, so I just closed the door,” he said.

Fran said they often saw the young man and woman pacing back and forth outside the house and texting.

All of the residents moved in around June 2017.

RCMP say the body inside was severely burned in the fire, and a gender could not be determined.

“We won’t be commenting on a gender of the deceased,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey. “At this time, it is not clear to us. We are going to have to rely on an autopsy to positively identify this individual.”

Kelowna Fire Capt. Dave Limert said the fire started in an enclosed deck on the back of the house.

The cause of fire and death is still being investigated and being treated as suspicious.


UPDATE: 10:50 a.m.

Police say the body discovered at the scene of a Rutland house fire is still inside the home.

An emergency call was also made to the residence at 5 p.m. Monday, before the fire broke out.

The body is apparently so severely burned that investigators cannot determine its gender.


UPDATE: 9:20 a.m.

The BC Coroners Service is now involved in the investigation into a house fire in Rutland Monday night after a body was discovered inside.

RCMP Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey says the individual was impacted by the fire.

“This investigation is in its very early stages,” says O’Donaghey.

“Specially trained fire investigators with both the RCMP and Kelowna Fire Department, will be examining the scene alongside a representative of the BC Coroners Service.”

He adds police continue to secure the fire scene, as investigators try to determine a cause for the blaze and identify the deceased individual discovered inside.

A clear cause is not yet known.

The sex or age of the deceased has not been released.


ORIGINAL: 6 a.m.

Kelowna firefighters responded to a house fire in Rutland overnight.

About 9:30 p.m. Monday, fire crews were called to the 1200 block of Gaggin Road.

Flames were jumping from a side window of the home.

Platoon Capt. Dennis Miller says crews attacked the blaze from both the inside and exterior of the residence, confining the fire to one area of the structure.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and is under investigation.

Kelowna Fire Department responded with three engines, a rescue unit, command vehicle and safety officer as well as 16 firefighters.



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