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An overnight fire inside the suite of a barricaded man involved in a seven-hour standoff with police caused the evacuation of the Queen Alexandra apartment, with a number of residents now being treated in hospital.
Officers were called to the building at 107 Street and 79 Avenue Thursday afternoon to help another agency carry out a court order against a man who had barricaded himself in his suite, police said in a Friday morning news release.
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Officers had been negotiating with the man from around 5 p.m. Thursday before the fire broke out inside his suite around 12:46 a.m., causing the evacuation of the walkup building.
The man was taken into custody around 12:48 a.m. Friday, as the fire department worked on the blaze and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) tended to evacuees, with a number of them then transported to hospital for medical assessments.
Eight fire crews arrived on scene at 12:51 a.m., said Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS). Seven civilians from the site were transported to hospital. Fire crews remained on scene at 8:30 a.m., as the fire was under control at 4:20 a.m. but still active.
Edmonton Transit Services (ETS) buses were brought in to shelter other evacuees.
A police sergeant on scene around 9 a.m. said tactical officers breached the door of the man’s suite before the fire was started in a bedroom. The man was quickly taken into custody before tactical officers moved to help residents escape the blaze. Some of their equipment was left behind as the fire surged, he said.
More information from police is to come later Friday.
Police said the Director of Law Enforcement has been notified of the case and determined it is not within the scope of an Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) review.
ASIRT investigates cases where people are seriously hurt or killed during interactions with police, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct. The results of ASIRT’s investigation will be made public once it is completed.
— with files from Shaughn Butts
An overnight fire inside an apartment building located at 107 Street and 79 Avenue involved a seven-hour standoff with a barricaded man and police on Thursday evening in Edmonton. Photo by Shaughn Butts /Postmedia
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