A 56-year-old man died Saturday afternoon (April 4) during a fire that started in his apartment and spread to part of a 13-unit complex on Wilson Crescent.
John M. Gosselin is described as originally from Quebec, and lived in unit seven, 1090 Wilson Crescent.
Authorities are not saying exactly how Gosselin died until a coroner's report is filed, but RCMP stated foul play has been ruled out.
RCMP also confirmed that Gosselin's 84-year-old mother lived in the apartment next door. She was uninjured, but due to damage to her apartment, is currently in the care of the Squamish Emergency Program's Emergency Social Services, which houses residents displaced during incidents such as natural disasters.
Squamish Fire Rescue is still investigating the cause of the fire, which spread thick, black smoke over Dentville at around 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
"We got called [at 12:45 p.m.] after several reports of fire being seen coming out of one of the units," said Squamish Fire Rescue chief Ray Saurette.
Eight minutes later, the first truck was on the scene. Witnesses immediately told firefighters they believed someone was in the ground floor unit where the fire was most concentrated.
"The priority is to try to get in and see, but when we found the individual, it was too late," said Saurette.
The building houses 10 units in a two-storey building while three units remained as ground-floor attachments. The design may have saved the majority of units from further damage.
"It was one of those [three ground-level] units that had a fire to it," said Saurette. "[The firefighters] worked exceptionally hard, and managed to save the major part of the building, which houses 10 of the units."
With five career firefighters and 28 Fire Rescue volunteers working to save the building, all but one unit was again inhabitable by late afternoon, said Saurette.
"[The tenants] were able to get back into the units, so they were quite happy that we were able to control the fire and extinguish it before it had a chance to get into the main part of building. And that was from the hard work of the volunteers."
The fatality marks the first time in approximately 10 years a resident perished in a fire, according to Saurette. It shows on-going efforts to remind residents of the vital need for smoke alarms may be sinking in.
"We've been fortunate in that the number of fatalities in our community is very low," said Saurette. "We're always concerned that smoke alarms are working to be able to pre-alert people that there's something happening."
The building's alarm system did alert tenants there was a problem, but investigations haven't yet determined if Gosselin's apartment had a functioning fire alarm.
