Fire investigators were unable to determine a cause of the blaze that killed two men this week at the College Heights Trailer Park.
"The intense heat of the fire destroyed much of the physical evidence required for conclusive establishment of the fire cause; the fire cause is therefore undetermined," said John Lane, the chief-designate of Prince George Fire Rescue Service. "The investigators were able to determine that the fire originated in the kitchen area of the trailer."
The fire department's alarm sounded at about 4 a.m. Tuesday morning and by the time they arrived, the trailer was significantly engulfed in flames. The mobile home next door suffered heat damage but fire crews were able to spare that building from burning as well.
Due to the knowledge that two people were likely inside at the time of the fire, a search for them began as soon as the flames could be knocked down and the heat of the incident cool. Even so, the fire sparked back to life a number of times in isolated spots as that investigation went on.
"There was no evidence of any smoke detectors present in the debris," said Lane.
There is still another element of the investigation underway and that is under the purview of the B.C. Coroner's Service.
One victim was located almost immediately (mid-morning) and the second victim was discovered by late Tuesday afternoon. Both were confirmed to be adult males, and police deemed the fire to be non-suspicious in nature.
Still, autopsies are required as a standard procedure and those were scheduled for Friday in Prince George.
"We are looking into establishing the identities of the people involved, that is a standard part of the post-mortem process," said Donita Kuzma, assistant regional coroner. "Once we have positive determinations there, we can take the next steps to contact next of kin."
Kuzma stressed that there were strong preliminary indications as to whom the victims are, so determining the proof of identity was merely a necessary formality.
