Regina fire that left 7 without a home caused by cigarette butt: RFPS | CBC News

A cigarette butt sparked a fire that destroyed a section of low-rise apartments in Regina on Saturday, officials say.

According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), firefighters arrived to put out the blaze at the 16-suite block of apartments on Centennial Street, near the University of Regina at 9:00 p.m. after receiving a 911 call reporting the fire.

“All of those firefighters and rescue people were running around doing operational things,” Haris Khan, a neighbour who witnessed the aftermath of the fire said Monday. 

“I was shocked, I knew something had happened, it’s not a false alarm.”

Regina Fire and Protective Services said Monday that a cigarette butt caused the fire. The butt was discarded into an improper container which smoldered, causing a fire which snaked up the side of the building, eventually engulfing two properties.

Two people had injuries, including broken bones, cuts and scrapes, RFPS Deputy Chief Gord Hewitt said. The injuries weren’t caused by the fire, but by people escaping through second floor windows to avoid getting trapped in the flames. 

Khan witnessed the aftermath of people’s rush to escape.

“I saw there were 20 people who were sitting standing outside and some of them were not even wearing proper winter gear,” he said. 

A crew of 22 people remained on scene for up to four hours dealing with the aftermath of the fire, Hewitt said. Two properties were completely destroyed, leaving the seven people who lived there without homes.

According to Khan, the people living there had been students or had just moved to Regina.

“I believe they were students from the university and they were young kids, probably first- or second-year students and some of them might be new to Canada.”

A portion of the property will likely have to be demolished. Hewitt said 14 units remained unharmed, and residents were already able to move back in.

In a statement, the Ministry of Social services said they will be providing supports to those affected by the fire. 

The following day, debris on the scene of the fire reignited, causing a second fire to break out.

“When you have a fire like that and you have significant damage and significant debris, oftentimes in a fire like that you can have some smoldering that occurs there,” said Hewitt.

“Despite, you know, our crew going through with thermal imaging, camera spring water and foam on the scene, there was some re-ignition or some smoldering that occurred through the night and we were notified of that yesterday, went back and had that fire under control quickly.”

The damage and future of the building is in the hands of the building’s property owners now, said Hewitt, after the reason for the fire had been thoroughly investigated by the fire department.