The RCMP is investigating after the remains of two people were found following a suspicious house fire in Springhill, N.S.
Cumberland District RCMP responded to the home on Beaton’s Lane just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Members of the Springhill Fire Department found the remains of the victims on the main floor of the home while they were extinguishing the fire.
“They quickly suppressed the fire and then search teams found the victims and then immediately removed them from inside,” says Springhill Fire Chief Stanley Hunter.
Hunter says the fire appears to have started in the basement of the home, which was under renovation. He also says the fire caused some internal damage to the home, but was extinguished quickly.
No details have been released about the victims, but neighbours tell CTV News they were a couple from central Canada who recently moved to the area.
Records indicate the home was purchased by a woman from North Bay, Ont. in December.
“We just started to get to know them, actually. They’ve only been down here a couple times,” says neighbour Jamie Henwood. “They stripped the house out and they were just getting ready to renovate it. Planned on retiring down here, I guess.”
While the couple was new to the area, residents say the incident has shaken people in the community.
“I talked to them a couple times to welcome them to the neighbourhood, tell them if there’s anything they needed come and see us,” says Henwood. “It’s a close neighbourhood down here.”
Autopsies will be conducted to determine a cause of death.
Police say they need more time to determine what happened, but they are treating the fire as suspicious at this time.
The Nova Scotia Medical Examiner's Service and the fire marshal’s office are assisting the RCMP with the investigation.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
