Air Ronge blaze deemed suspicious: Fire chief

A structural fire in Air Ronge has been deemed suspicious by the La Ronge Regional Fire Department.

That’s according to Acting-Fire Chief Keaton Cloud, who said firefighters were called to the scene at 5:38 a.m. He said it’s currently too difficult to determine where the fire started, adding the blaze was so intense it caused minor heat damage to the neighbouring building.

“At this time, it’s considered suspicious, but due to the extent of the damage, it will be very difficult to actually pinpoint the cause of the fire,” Cloud said. “On that front, we just left it undetermined and it is deemed suspicious.”

Owner Pat Knudsen had been using the building as a craft shop, but she hasn’t been able to inspect the damage for herself yet. She noted, however, there had been previous break-ins and some of her art supplies had already been stolen. Knudsen said it’s likely the same person who broke in that started the fire.