An 87-year-old Comox man has died after firefighters pulled him from a burning house Friday night.
Comox Mayor Russ Arnott confirmed the death Saturday.
“Many thanks to the heroic efforts by the Comox Fire Department last night as they tried to save an elderly male from a house fire,” Arnott said in a statement.
“Sadly, the man succumbed to his injuries.”
Comox Valley RCMP said the man was 87 years old.
Arnott praised the quick work of firefighters for preventing the fire from spreading and endangering others.
Capt. Robert Stevens of Comox Fire Rescue said the department was called to the blaze in a single-story residence at the corner of Downey Avenue and Rodello Street about 8:15 p.m.
“Our dispatch reported that they were getting several calls, so we knew we had a working fire,” he said.
The department responded with 24 members and three trucks and managed to knock the fire down in five to six minutes, Stevens said.
“We were made aware pretty quickly that there was somebody inside the house [and] we did pull a victim out of the house,” he said.
Firefighters remained on scene for about four hours, Stevens said. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but police said it was not criminal in nature.
RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service are investigating.
