Lethbridge fire caused by unattended space heater

Following an investigation, a fire in the 2400 block of 20 Street North on December 19 was deemed to be accidental. One person was rescued from the house and taken to the Chinook Regional Hospital in critical condition. Heath Wright, the chief fire marshal for Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services, says the cause of the blaze was from an unattended space heater.

“This was an accident, and obviously it wasn’t done on purpose. But if we can just conscientiously realize that these appliances are not meant for permanent heating, they’re there for temporary. So if we can just make sure that when you turn it on, when you’re using it and make sure that you turn it off, if not, unplug it when you’re finished using it. One of the things that we noticed, too, that people like plugging in these appliances into power bars or extension cords that are 50ft long. I would not suggest that at all. They pull lots of amperage these appliances, and therefore, I would suggest that we make sure that we plug them directly into an outlet.”

Fire officials says the damage from the fire is estimated at $500,000.