A fire that began in a Steinbach home early this morning has been declared “suspicious” and is under police investigation.

At 4:20 AM this morning Fire Chief Kelvin Toews says his crews were called to the site, located along Highway 52 near the border of Steinbach and La Broquerie.

“When we arrived on scene there were flames shooting out of the roof already and it was fully involved,” he describes. “We assumed a defensive strategy at that point because we weren’t sending anyone in there to do an interior attack.”

Toews notes the building’s single resident was unharmed by the fire.

Meanwhile, musings at the scene suggest the tenant was facing eviction today. That rumor is given credence by the presence of several sheriffs walking around and asking questions. In Manitoba, a sheriff’s duties include executing and enforcing court orders as well as participating in the seizure and sale of property.

“They are here on a totally unrelated matter,” offers Toews, somewhat cryptically. He adds that his firefighters were not able to fully extinguish the blaze as they did not want to tamper with any clues or evidence that may remain within the building. 

“There are still some hot spots that they will have to take care of after the investigation is over." 

The sheriffs, alongside the Steinbach RCMP and the Office of the Fire Commissioner, are looking into what caused the fire.

This is a developing story. More details will be posted as they become available.