By Kevin Crush
Edmonton Sun (Alberta)
EDMONTON, Canada — A review will be launched into how long it took Edmonton firefighters to pull a man who later died out of a burning house late Wednesday night, fire officials say.
A house fire at 13404 123 St., sent 53-year-old Rob Rohac to hospital in critical condition after fire crews were alerted around 11:30 p.m.
It took 15 minutes after crews arrived to get the fire under control, but they didn’t find Rohac for another three minutes. He was suffering cardiac arrest in the kitchen —where it’s believed he was trying to call 911.
“We’ll be doing a review of this particular fire just because we understand a neighbour has raised a concern about how long it may have taken fire crews to remove this individual from the home,” Edmonton Fire spokesman Nikki Booth told Sun Media.
Firefighters found Rohac without a pulse. They pulled him out of the building and paramedics were able to revive him. He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where he later died.
“We don’t always know that there is somebody in a home,” said Booth.
Dispatchers usually question callers to get such details, but the initial call for Wednesday’s fire came from Voxcom Security alarm system.
Authorities say an older-style power bar in the basement rumpus room was found burnt out from the inside and that the fire spread quickly through the walls.
They believe Rohac was alerted by smoke and opened up the front and rear doors to ventilate the inside. He then tried to head downstairs to fight the flames with an extinguisher but was turned back by the thick smoke. He then returned to his kitchen, where he tried to call 911 but was overcome by the smoke.
“That’s why we tell people when there is a fire in your home that you need to evacuate as quickly as possible,” said Booth.
Colleagues of Rohac’s at Friesens Yearbooks, where he was a longtime employee, were shocked by the news of his death.
The father of three worked with staff and students to help schools in Alberta and B.C. put together yearbooks.
“His daughters and grandson were his world,” said co-worker Elana Seol.
Damage to the house was estimated at $250,000.
Meanwhile, investigators are searching for the cause of a fire that gutted a family home at 9624 52 St. last night, causing up to $500,000 in damage. No one was hurt in the blaze, which neighbours called in just before 8 p.m.
Standing on the sidewalk, Brad Stucke, 26, explained that his parents had left on a motorhome vacation to the United States just yesterday morning. He said he had moved out of his childhood home only a few weeks ago.
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