Man dead after neighbours attempt rescue from Port Alberni house fire

Mounties and fire investigators are at the scene of a house fire that has left one person dead in Port Alberni, B.C., on Monday.

Fire Chief Mike Owens says crews were called to the home in the 4800-block of Ian Avenue shortly after midnight.

"When we arrived on scene we had heavy fire showing from the front of the structure and reports of a man down in the backyard" Owens said.

The victim is a man in his 60s who rented the lower floor of the home. He had apparently yelled to the upstairs tenant, who came down and helped him get outside.

"The individual who was extricated from the fire by the other resident and passersby [was] brought out the back of the building," Owens said. "My understanding is they attempted to come out the front but there was too much fire so they retreated to the back of the building."

Owens said the efforts of those who tried to save the man are to be commended.

"Our hats are off to both the individual that was upstairs at the time and certainly passersby who observed a situation that required immediate intervention and they were willing to jump in and put themselves at risk and pull this gentleman out," he said.

Fire Chief Mike Owens says crews were called to the home in the 4800-block of Ian Avenue shortly after midnight, Feb. 28, 2022. (CTV News)

Lisa Lessard lives across the street from the fire scene and heard the commotion and firetrucks after midnight.

"I ran outside and saw a gentleman out there with no shoes and socks on so I took him some pants and some socks and stuff," she said.

Lessard said her neighbour helped get the man out of the house.

"He actually showed up before the fire department came and he went around the back of the house and I guess the gentleman was coming out the back door and he helped him out and then he collapsed," she said.

Owens said multiple 911 calls were received and because of the home's location, dispatchers initially believed it was a commercial building so fire departments in Beaver Creek, Sproat Lake and Cherry Creek also responded.

With those additional crews, Owens said the fire was knocked down in about 10 minutes. He said the fire damage was extensive to both floors of the residence.

"With additional firefighters on scene, we were able to give our best efforts and the suppression of the fire went reasonably well, but of course our hearts are with the tragic outcome for the individual," Owens said.

"We haven't been able to determine if there were working smoke alarms but certainly the individual upstairs was alerted to the fire by the individual that was downstairs," Owens said.

Monday's fire marks the first fire fatality in Port Alberni in more than five years, according to Owens.