47-year-old victim of accidental Charlottetown fire identified
'It’s a very tragic situation'
The man who died in an accidental fire last weekend in Charlottetown has been identified.
Forty-seven-year-old Troy (Redd) MacKinnon was one of two people rescued from the blaze at 85 Edward St. MacKinnon was sent to a hospital in Halifax where he later died.
The Charlottetown Fire Department received the call at about 10:15 p.m. on Saturday. The three-storey building had smoke alarms, but no sprinklers, said Charlottetown fire inspector Winston Bryan.
Generally, a three-storey residential building in Charlottetown is not required to have sprinklers.
Fire originated in mattress
The fire originated in a mattress in an apartment on the third floor, Bryan said.
"We have classified it as an accidental fire," Bryan said.
The occupant of that room is believed to be the victim, Bryan said, and he moved the mattress to the hallway of the apartment where it fully ignited.
"He tried to move it to get the fire outside of the building, to save the other people within the building," Bryan said.
The ignited mattress was a contributing factor in burns sustained by the victim, Bryan said.
Bryan said the mattress could have been ignited by a cigarette or other smoking material.
"It's a very tragic situation, our feelings are with the family at this time," he said.
Contained to 3rd floor
The residents of the building were displaced, but Bryan said the fire was contained to the third floor.
"It will be left up to the owner of the property to make the decision when the tenants can return to the building," he said.
The investigation is not finished, he said, and some people still need to be interviewed, but there should be a full report next week.