Neighbours in a northeast Calgary community say they are shaken after a man died in a house fire that police are now investigating as a suspicious death. Calgary police were called to the home in the 200 block of 27 Avenue N.E. Thursday afternoon when firefighters discovered a body while responding to a fire. The property’s landlord tells CTV News the man who lived there was named Bernie and had been in the home for about 17 years. Police have not publicly released the victim’s name or identified anyone else who may have been living at the home. Fire crews were called to the home shortly before 12:20 p.m. Thursday and found light smoke coming from the back of the house and basement. Crews entered through the back of the home and extinguished the flames before finding the victim in the basement. Police and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner attended the scene and later determined the death was suspicious. No other injuries were reported, and the fire was contained to the home where it started. Neighbour describes morning before fatal fire Wayne Ryan Craig lives nearby and has been cutting the grass at the property every couple of weeks since May. He says he was there Thursday morning, leaving around 11:30 a.m. — roughly an hour before the fire was reported. Craig says he had only met Bernie a few times but remembers him as an older man who used oxygen. “He was a good guy and this is just such a shock,” Craig said. While mowing the lawn, Craig says he noticed a window at the house slam shut. “There was someone in the house because they shut that window right there when I was mowing because the mower was too loud, I suppose,” he said. “I couldn’t see who it was, but someone was definitely in the house.” Craig says the timing has stayed with him. “ I had only left and an hour later and all of sudden, kaboom,” he said. “I didn’t know he (Bernie) had a roommate, but one of the neighbours I talked with said they heard some arguing or yelling, possibly a day or so ago.” He says he has since spoken with police about what he saw. Craig also says he was surprised to learn the death was being investigated as suspicious. “We really don’t know anything at this point, but I hope police are able to find out what happened.” ‘We are still a little bit shaken’ For one next door neighbour, the discovery has been difficult to process. Anna Munoz lives just a couple doors away and says she and her family were at home when they began hearing sirens Thursday afternoon. “We were just like, maybe a smoke detector went off and alerted the firefighters,” Munoz said. She says she had rarely seen anyone coming or going from the property. “We honestly thought it was abandoned and maybe they were going to sell it or something,” she said. Munoz added that the death has since changed the way she is looking at what happened in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood. “We are still a little bit shaken because this is a pretty safe neighborhood,” she said. Across the street, Clint Lee says he was also shocked when he learned someone had died. “I was like, what? Are you serious?” Lee says the area generally feels safe and that he had never noticed anything suspicious at the home. “I see neighbors around here, and everyone just seems chill and cool,” he said. “So, it’s pretty crazy.” Flowers were also spotted outside the home Friday, a small sign of remembrance as neighbours continue to process what happened. Police have not released details about how the man died or what led investigators to classify the death as suspicious. The autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is expected to provide further information. Police say the investigation remains ongoing and additional information will be released when available. Anyone with information is asked to contact Calgary police at 403-266-1234. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers.
