Fire claims life

One man is dead after an apartment fire late Wednesday evening on South Cumberland Street.

“The fire was reported by a neighbour at approximately 11:30 last night,” said Rolf Waffler, fire investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office. “We’ve had a very small fire that was contained to the unit of origin at this apartment complex. One man has been taken to hospital deceased.”

The identity of the man won’t be released until next of kin is notified, but he is believed to be the tenant of the apartment unit; the post-mortem is scheduled for this afternoon to determine cause of death.

Waffler said the cause of the fire won’t be released until the investigation is complete. However, a news release from the Thunder Bay Fire Service said the fire “seems to have been caused by careless smoking.”

The fire originated in the living room of the apartment unit and the damage was minimal, said Waffler.

The investigation is ongoing.