A fire on Pinewood Park Drive that claimed a man's life yesterday evening is "not deemed to be suspicious." according to Deputy Fire Chief Greg Saunders.
At just after 9:30 last night fire crews rushed a structure fire at 13 Pinewood Park Drive.
See: Man dies in ambulance after firefighters rescue him from structure fire
"Fire crews arrived on scene within five minutes and found what appeared to be an abandoned home on fire with significant smoke coming from the home," says Saunders.
Firefighters entered the home and conducted a search
"A person was located and carried by firefighters from the home. The victim was passed along to paramedics who provided patient care," explains Saunders. "Paramedics worked for 45 minutes in the back of the ambulance and went to extraordinary lengths to try and save the victim but the smoke inhalation was too severe and the patient was declared deceased at the fire scene.
"Unfortunately there was a fatality," Saunders told CKAT. "Fire crews went in and did their job but the paramedics last night, the work they did in the back of the ambulance trying to save this poor man, was incredible quite frankly. They worked really hard to try and save this man."
Ontario Fire Marshal investigator James Allen will work with North Bay Fire Investigator Joe Gardiner and members of the North Bay Police Service to determine the cause of the fire.
"At this time the fire is not deemed to be suspicious," said Saunders.
-----
Update Aug. 6, 2020.
The deceased man has been identified as 37-year-old Daniel Legere. His mother Heather tells BayToday that her son was not homeless and that the family has no idea why he was in the building at the time.
