CTV News Edmonton has reported:

Two Edmonton Fire Rescue Services investigators testified Thursday about accelerant evidence and the origin of a fatal apartment fire at the trial of Jason Zabos, who is accused of setting fire to his suite. One investigator said a fire-detection dog alerted to Zabos’ bedroom and clothing, while the other testified that the fire was deliberately set and began in a pile of debris at the foot of the bed.

The fire broke out at 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2024, at an apartment building at 10745 79 Ave. Zabos had been barricaded inside his suite for eight hours as a provincial bailiff and police tried to serve him with an eviction order. He faces charges of manslaughter and arson with disregard for human life.

Seven other residents, including a toddler, were hospitalized. All residents lost their homes and belongings. The body of Ricardo Olivares, 70, was found in the charred remains of his suite on April 22, 2024.

Ian Smith, a 21-year veteran of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, testified that he and his canine unit, Marshal, attended the apartment on Jan. 28, 2024. They searched Zabos’ suite and ended up in the bedroom, where Marshal alerted to a location at the end of the bed.

“You can hear his nose going into overdrive,” Smith said of Marshal. Smith testified that he rewarded the dog and let him resume working. “He went to the exact same place,” he said.

Asked by the Crown what Marshal was trained to detect, Smith said the dog was trained to detect the presence of an ignitable liquid. Samples collected from the spot where Marshal alerted were identified at the RCMP forensics lab as a medium petroleum distillate, such as lamp oil, gasoline or some types of camp fuels.

Smith also testified that Edmonton police asked him and Marshal to investigate the clothing Zabos wore on the night of the fire. His running shoes, socks, long johns, pants, sweater and T-shirt were laid out with six feet between each item. Marshal was allowed to inspect them and alerted on every item at least once.

During cross-examination, the defence asked Smith how confident he was in Marshal’s ability to detect an accelerant. “If he says there was something there I believe him,” Smith replied. Smith and Marshal have attended more than 230 fire scenes.

Robert Resler, a 20-year veteran of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, was the second witness. He testified investigators determined the fire began in the bedroom, where the damage was greater than anywhere else in the suite. “There definitely was more damage in the bedroom than anywhere else in the suite,” he said.

Investigators found power bars and electrical cords in the bedroom, but Resler said they had been damaged by the fire and were not at its origin point. He said the fire began in a large pile of debris at the foot of the bed. In reaching his conclusion, he ruled out smoking materials and an electrical malfunction. “My conclusion was it was a deliberately set fire,” he said.

The defence asked Resler whether a lithium-ion battery could have caused the fire. He testified that fires involving such batteries usually leave copper paper from inside the cells at the scene, and that he did not notice any in Zabos’ apartment. The defence also asked whether a battery could have been among electronic debris near the cords; Resler said that area was not where the fire originated.

Asked what could make a fire spread as quickly as this one, Resler said an accelerant could account for the speed. He testified that a fire in a pile of clothing would not normally burn as fast and that more than a cup of accelerant would be required. After cross-examination, the Crown asked whether any copper paper had been found in the suite. Resler said it had not.

Earlier in the trial, the court heard that Zabos had posted a threat on Facebook to burn down the apartment days before the fire. An Edmonton Police Service tactical unit member testified that he saw Zabos throw what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail as the fire broke out. The officer said he had never seen a fire spread as fast as the one at the apartment. The trial is scheduled to continue after the Thanksgiving weekend. CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson contributed to the report.