No working smoke alarms likely led to fatal Hamilton house fire: report
Published February 24, 2023 at 3:17 pm
The house fire that killed one person and sent five others to the hospital may have been prevented with a working smoke alarm.
The investigation is ongoing; however, evidence collected by the Ontario fire marshall suggests that residents at 69 Century St. were not alerted by an alarm. Witnesses also claim not to have heard an activated alarm.
Hamilton Fire initially reported a total of nine people inside the multi-family home. However, one individual was unaccounted for on the second floor because firefighters were forced to evacuate the structurally-damaged home for their safety.
The body of the dead individual was found later while crews conducted a search.
Hamilton Fire Department photo
Firefighters arrived at the home near Wentworth and Wilson streets just after 9:20 a.m. on Feb. 17 to find heavy smoke and flames venting from the two-and-a-half-storey home. Neighbouring homes were also exposed to flames.
Three individuals were rescued.
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“Firefighters using ground ladders were able to quickly rescue the person from the second-floor window and the two people from the roof of the adjacent house,” Hamilton Fire Chief David Cunliffe wrote in an email.
It’s believed that three additional people self-evacuated from the burning home.
Hamilton Fire Department photo
“As the rescues were being completed, firefighters entered the building to perform search and rescue and interior firefighting operations,” added Cunliffe. “Interior crews reported fire on the first and second floors, with heavy fire in the walls and between the floors.”
“Two aerial ladders with large volumes of water streams and additional exterior handlines were utilized to help protect the homes on either side and bring the fire under control.”
The home sustained significant damage, including a collapsed roof. The damage estimate is more than $850,000.00.
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