RCMP have confirmed a structure fire in the early morning of June 1 involved a fatality.
Drumheller emergency crews responded to a call for a house fire in the 800 block of 2 Avenue, north of McConkey Park at approximately 7 a.m. on Wednesday, June 1. Drumheller RCMP released a press statement asking the public to avoid travelling to this area to allow emergency personnel to safely do their jobs.
The fire was extinguished, and the Alberta Fire Investigators and the Alberta Forensic Identification Section were on the scene for the remainder of the day.
Alberta RCMP Southern Alberta District Media Relations Officer Cpl. Gina Slaney confirmed there was a fatality in the fire and, following an autopsy, the fatality was deemed not suspicious.
Newcastle resident Jamie O’Brien saw the smoke from his home shortly before 7 a.m. When he arrived at the scene he noted the resident’s vehicle was still at the home. He banged on the door and smashed the front window out. He went to the rear of the house and it was fully engulfed.
“I kicked the back door in and looked into the kitchen and discharged the 30-pound extinguisher I had,” said O’Brien.
He called for the occupant but there was no response.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, it is really quite sad,” he said. “I tried everything I could.”
Mr. O’Brien sustained minor injuries at the scene and was treated by EMS.
The Drumheller Fire Department arrived shortly after and extinguished the fire.

The Town of Drumheller is lobbying the provincial government for additional funding due to escalating costs for projects, including flood mitigation.
Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski met with Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon, Agriculture and Forestry Minister and Associate Minister of Rural Economic Development Nate Horner, and Minister of Transportation Rajan Sawhney on Wednesday, May 25 to request additional funding and provide an update on the flood mitigation project.
“We’re asking for funding to make sure we can finish the current berms part of the original grant request (Midland, Newcastle, Willow Estates, and Grove Plaza), and new berms to protect additional communities,” Mayor Colberg told the Mail.
Drumheller council voted during the May 9 regular council meeting to cancel the tender for the Downtown Dike Phase 1 project after receiving two bids which both came in well over the budgeted amount of $1.4 million for this portion of the project.
CAO Drohomerski added funding approvals were based on 2015 to 2016 costs, with some inflation considered. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented economic pressure that has seen costs for everything from materials to fuel escalate, and which could not be conceptualized at the time the funding was approved.
Another factor that has increased construction costs for the project was the designed flow rate being increased by the province from 1,640 cubic meters per second (cm/s) to 1,850 cm/s.
This has contributed to the original conceptual berm designs needing to be adjusted to accommodate the additional flow, with freeboard, and to provide protection to additional areas which would otherwise be left without protection based on the new flow rates.
Mayor Colberg says berm sizes are currently being reevaluated to reduce the top width and freeboard amounts to help further extend currently available funding.
She adds a request for decision will be brought before council during the regular Monday, June 6 council meeting (see Council Notes on Page 4).
Along with the request for additional funding for the flood mitigation project, Mayor Colberg and CAO Drohomerski also discussed funding support for the Drumheller Municipal Airport lighting project, which also saw tender bids come in well over budget, improvements to the Hoodoo parking lot, and land negotiation resolutions to complete work to repair the Starmine suspension bridge.