The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net 

A MAN’S body was found in a house on Meadow Street on Saturday night after police extinguished a fire.

Police said sometime around 10.13pm, officers from the Fire Department received reports of a structural fire located on Meadow and Finlayson Streets.

Fire units were dispatched and upon arrival, found a single storey, two-room structure engulfed in flames.

After extinguishing the fire, officers then surveyed the interior of the home where they discovered the charred remains of an adult male.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, police press liaison officer ASP Audley Peters said the victim appeared to be in his early 50s.

Asked if the victim was the sole occupant of the structure, he replied: “From what we understand this is a structure that is owned by another person and some persons would’ve taken over the structure and this individual would have usually normally been at this structure during this day.”

He said while the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, foul play is not suspected by police at this time.

While briefing reporters on Saturday’s incident, ASP Peters also issued a plea to residents who often use candles and other open flame devices to keep their homes lit, urging them to extinguish the fires before going to bed. He stressed, however, that he was not saying this was the cause of Saturday’s incident.

“What I want to add at this time is persons who may find themselves without electricity, and have to make use of the candles and lanterns, to be cautious and extinguish them before going to bed. Nothing here suggests that this was caused by a candle being lit,” he noted.

“But, however, we would encourage individuals who may have to make use of candles and lanterns to ensure that they are extinguished before going to bed and to discourage children from playing with matches during this time.”

An investigation is ongoing.