Halifax firefighters found a man dead on his couch when they rushed to an apartment blaze in the city’s north end early Sunday morning.
Loud sirens broke the late night silence when three trucks and 10 crew members with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Service responded to the fire on the third floor of 3232 Isleville St. at about 1:20 a.m., Platoon Chief Mike Blackburn said.
“There was a smoke condition on the third floor,” Blackburn said. “Crews advanced a line to the third floor (and) entered the one unit.”
Firefighters found “one lone occupant … who was deceased” while they were putting out the blaze, Blackburn said.
He said another tenant tried to rescue the man, but ended up in hospital with smoke inhalation.
Investigators hadn’t determined what caused the fire by Sunday afternoon, but Staff Sgt. Jim Butler of Halifax Regional Police said the blaze isn’t suspicious.
Butler said police believed they had identified the man but were still doing forensic tests yesterday.
Blackburn said he appears to be in his late 50s.
The Red Cross said most residents were expected to return home to the 24-unit, three-storey brick building yesterday.
