UPDATE: Fire at Penticton apartment building claims 2 lives

(UPDATE: Oct. 27 @ 4:05 pm) - An early morning three-alarm blaze that ripped through a Penticton apartment building has killed a pair.

The Penticton RCMP confirmed this afternoon that the remains of two people were found inside the torched building on Elm Avenue.

"Although the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed, it does not appear to be criminal in nature," said an RCMP release.

The Penticton Fire Department was initially called to the fire around 4:15 am and battled it for more than four hours before it was deemed under control.

Once the fire was out and a structural engineer gave the green light for people to go inside, firefighters located the two bodies.

The BC Coroners Service is conducting an independent investigation to determine how, when and by what means the victims died.

(Original story: Oct. 27 @ 11:10 am) - A three-alarm blaze ripped through a three-storey apartment building at 217 Elm Ave., directly across from Skaha Lake Park, in the pre-dawn hours today.

When PentictonNow arrived on the scene at 9 am, damage was most evident on the building's western flank and its top floor, which was severely impacted.

According to Penticton Fire Department deputy fire chief Rob Trousdell, notice of the fire was received "just after 4 am."

"The fire was fully evolved on our arrival. We had three of our apparatus here, plus we had mutual aid from Summerland. We had their aerial (truck) here.

"It was a three-alarm fire, so we had a call out of our auxiliary firefighters and all off duty firefighters as well."

Trousdell estimated the fire was "under control" by approximately 8:30 am.

"There are no firefighter injuries to be reported at this time," he said, though he was less committal when asked about potential occupant injuries.

"We have a structural engineer on site now, and once we determine the stability we'll be able to go through the rest of the structure."