Fatal house fire raises concerns about abandoned, boarded-up homes

A Regina man was concerned Wednesday after two people were found dead following a house fire near his home, but he said the situation is pointing to a broader problem.

Brice Perkins lives in the Al Ritchie neighbourhood, a couple of doors down from where the fire broke out. He said the home has been abandoned for almost three years, and homeless people have been seeking shelter inside.

“I think that the city needs to wake up and realize that this is a huge issue inside of our city,” Perkins said.

A house in the 2100 block of Winnipeg Street was destroyed by fire on Dec. 20, 2023. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Perkins said boarded-up, abandoned homes are a safety concern to everyone, including the city’s homeless population.

“I think we need to start talking to our mayor and councillors and using taxpayer money on how to address a homeless issue inside the city,” he said. “Start removing the abandoned buildings and start seeing how we can actually start correcting the problem instead of throwing city taxpayer money elsewhere.

“If you care about the issue, you’ve got to step up and care about your neighbourhood because it goes (further) than just your front door.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Regina Fire Chief Layne Jackson told reporters the home wasn’t boarded up, but he did confirm it didn’t have any utilities hooked up.

Jackson couldn’t say if the two victims were owners of the home or if they were inside just trying to stay warm.

“Those type of circumstances also are part of the ongoing investigation and we’ll determine their level of involvement with the actual property,” Jackson said.

A house in the 2100 block of Winnipeg Street was destroyed by fire on Dec. 20, 2023. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Just after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Regina Fire and Protective Services and the Regina Police Service responded to a fire in the 2100 block of Winnipeg Street. After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters found two people on the second floor of the home.

The two people were pronounced dead at the scene. They are the fourth and fifth fire-related deaths in the city this year.

Jackson said the fire department, the police service and the coroner are investigating the fire. The coroner will determine the cause of the victims’ deaths.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

RFPS responded to a fatal house fire 2100 Blk Winnipeg St at 12:39 am. Flames and smoke from the home on arrival. Crews made entry and located 2 occupants on the 2nd floor who were declared deceased on scene. RFPS remains on scene. Fire is under investigation. #YQR pic.twitter.com/EtrRulpCuf

— Regina Fire (@Regina_Fire) December 20, 2023

Earlier in December, two people died after a fire on Rae Street. Regina Fire and Protective Services has not released any information on the cause of that fire or the cause of the victims’ deaths.

Jackson said the fire department has seized some items from that house and have sent them to a laboratory for testing in hopes of determining the cause.

Whatever the reason, the fire department is investigating two fatal fires that occurred in a span of 11 days.

“We see ebbs and flows with fires throughout the year,” Jackson said. “Obviously, in the winter season — the colder season — we see an uptick of fires just with heating and different things that folks will do at this time of year.

“Also, we’re seeing some occupancies too where folks are living in conditions where there’s no utilities within their homes and that can cause some extra risks too.”

Perkins first expressed his concerns about the Winnipeg Street home to the City of Regina and his MLA, Nicole Sarauer, in the summer. In an email sent to Perkins, Regina’s city manager said the property was in the queue for demolition, and that was estimated to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.

Perkins awoke on Wednesday around 1 a.m. to police officers and fire crews banging on his door.

“We heard all of the sirens roll up so we woke up to the police at our door telling us to be prepared: ‘If the wind was to change, you might have to leave,’ ” he said.

This morning…

Regina Fire says two were found dead on the second floor upon entering a house on Winnipeg Street near Victoria Avenue.

Fire crews were originally called after smoke and flames were seen from the home. @CJMENews pic.twitter.com/o0PLeUgOQY

— Gillian Massie (@massie_gillian) December 20, 2023

Perkins said there’s a serious housing issue inside the city that needs to be addressed.

“We have city encampments that are getting shut down and our homeless population have nowhere to go,” said Perkins. “There’s nowhere for them to seek shelter.

“It might be one of the warmer winters that we’ve had but it’s still cold, and like (Wednesday), they had to go find shelter and unfortunately two people — it doesn’t matter who you are — lost their lives because they were trying to stay warm.

“Unfortunately, if we didn’t have abandoned houses and we actually had homeless shelters people could actually go to, this probably wouldn’t have happened, and again it’s probably going to happen if nobody takes an issue with it.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Daniel Reech