SUNDRE – A woman has been arrested and charged with arson following a Sunday morning fire at a mobile home on the east side of Sundre that left the structure uninhabitable.
The Sundre RCMP received a call about a structure fire located in the area of 6th Street, SE at approximately 10:15 a.m. on March 30, said Cpl. Courtney Harding, the detachment’s acting commander, in a press release issued Monday.
“RCMP determined all occupants of the residence were able to safely evacuate prior to emergency services arrival,” said Harding, adding an investigation into the cause of the fire ensued.
“As a result, a 43-year-old female was located near the scene and arrested for arson,” the corporal said, adding a fire investigator was also brought out.
Sara Marie Larose, of no fixed address, was charged with arson causing damage to property. The accused was brought before a justice of a peace during a judicial interim release hearing at the Sundre detachment on March 31, said Harding.
Larose was subsequently released on bail with conditions.
“As a result of this fire, three people have been displaced and multiple residences have been damaged,” said Harding, adding supports are being made available to the victims and that the incident remains under investigation.
Answering a follow-up question, Harding told the Albertan the incident was not random.
“The accused was staying at the home at the time of the fire,” she said.
A potential motive was not immediately provided by police.
The blaze started in one of the mobile home’s bedrooms, said the Sundre Fire Department’s deputy chief.
After receiving the call, the department responded by deploying an engine and a tender as there are no hydrants in that area on the south side of Highway 27, said Alex Clews, adding the Olds Fire Department also provided additional assistance by sending out another engine with a crew.
“We had it knocked down before they got there, but we utilized them for overhaul,” he said, adding that while the initial fire was out by the time Olds’ members arrived, they were able to help extinguish “any hot spots that were still there; just going through (the scene) with a fine-tooth comb, making sure that there’s nothing that could reignite.”
Firefighters were on the scene for approximately two and a half hours. When they had first arrived, “The one bedroom of the mobile home was fully involved,” he said, adding the fire managed to make its way into the roof before ultimately being snuffed out.
As a result of the prompt response, he said a majority of the mobile home and a lot of personal belongings were still saved.
“The crew did an awesome job of knocking her down and saving the structure.”
The deputy chief said the incident was “under investigation by Global Forensics and RCMP,” and added a team of investigators later came out to the scene from roughly 4-7 p.m.
