54-year-old man dead after Portage la Prairie house fire

House fire kills 54-year-old man A 54-year-old man has been identified as the victim of a fatal house fire in Portage la Prairie.

A 54-year-old man was the lone victim in a fatal house fire in Portage la Prairie on Friday.

RCMP don’t consider the man’s death suspicious. In a statement to CTV News, they said he died as a result of the fire.

His identity will not be released publicly, said RCMP.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. The Office of the Fire Commissioner continues to investigate.

Firefighters arrived shortly after midnight Friday at a house on 15th street, to find the house engulfed in flames.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but found the man dead on the main floor of the home.

Neighbour Brian Unrau was heading to work Friday morning when he saw emergency vehicles and the street taped off. “It was quite a shock,” he said.

“You know that somebody’s been living there for lots of years. The house has been here for a long time. To come to work one day and realize that your neighbour’s passed away, it’s saddening.”

- With files from Beth Macdonell