RCMP and fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a house fire in St. Albert.
About 20 fire fighters were called out to 19 Oak Point at 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
“They found the house fully charged with fire and smoke,” Fire Investigator Les Mroz told CTV News.
Mroz said they managed to get the fire under control quickly and there were no serious injuries.
One man was taken to hospital but a neighbour told CTV he has been released.
“He was just frantic,” Valarie Guffei said, adding the man had knocked on her door for help when the fire broke out.
“He had no shoes on and he was just devastated. You could see the devastation in his eyes.
“Christmas is no time for someone to be losing their home.”
RCMP have now been called in to assist fire investigators to determine the cause of the blaze.
“The cause of the fire was not immediately obvious to them,” Cpl. Laurel Kading explained.
“We will work with the fire department to determine if there is evidence of anything to support suspicious fire or whether there is none.”
Cpl. Kading said results of the investigation may take some time.
“The fire investigator has to take chemical sample. They take all kinds of pictures. They examine wiring. There are all kinds of things that go into this.”
Fire officials estimate the damage to be upwards of $250,000.
With files from Breanna Karstens-Smith