ESTEVAN — A house fire that occurred in the 400-block of Third Street on Friday is being investigated as arson.
Monday morning, Estevan Deputy Police Chief Murray Cowan said in an email to the Mercury that their "Criminal Investigations Unit will be taking over the investigation from patrol members and the fire is being investigated as an arson."
No further details were immediately available.
The Estevan Fires Rescue Service crews, Estevan Police Service personnel, as well as Estevan EMS were called to a structure fire on Third Street around lunch hour on July 21.
Estevan Fire Chief Rick Davies said the crews were called out at approximately 12:30 p.m., and then the EPS was also called out as well.
The fire has been quickly extinguished with no injuries; however, the scene wasn't cleared for several hours. The EPS soon said the investigators were treating the fire as suspicious and remained on the scene until the conclusion of the investigation.
"The Estevan Fire Rescue was dispatched to a reported structure fire in the east end of the city. [We] responded and confirmed a working fire. Crews were able to quickly bring the fire under control and contain damages to the immediate structure," Davies said.
"The cause of the fire has been deemed suspicious, therefore [is] being investigated by the Estevan Police Service. Crews were back in service in approximately two hours."
The 400 block of Third Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues was blocked with first responders working at the scene for several hours.
The public was asked to avoid the area while emergency service personnel were on the scene.
Further information will be released as it becomes available.
