- Author
-
McNeil, M.
- Title
- Fatal Dwelling Fire, Wellington County, Ontario, 8 August 1991. Fire Investigation Report.
- Coporate
- Office of the Fire Marshall, Canada
- Report
-
Fire Investigation Report
June 28, 1993
21 p.
- Keywords
-
fire investigations
|
residential buildings
|
fire fatalities
|
bedding
|
lighting equipment
|
fire spread
|
single family dwellings
|
lamps
- Abstract
- On 8 August 1991 at approximately 2:30 a.m. a fire occurred in a single family dwelling in Wellington County, Ontario. Four family members, as well as a visiting neighbor, were in the house at the time. Two adults and one child were asleep in the main floor bedrooms; two children were asleep in the basement rec room. The smoke alarm was fully functional and notified the residents of the fire. It is known that four of them were up and moving through the house after the alarm occurred. The fire ended in tragedy - four people died and one survived. The fire started in the basement rec room, which happened to be the area of the house that sustained the least amount of fire damage. Statements made by the survivor of the fire placed the point of origin at the loveseat. The question as to how the fire actually started was only answered after an extensive scene examination and a series of detailed tests. The tests whosed that a 100W light bulb in an unshaded lamp placed on the floor could have ignited bedding materials that were scattered on the loveseat. The flaming bedding was easily able to ignite the loveseat. The surrounding wall and ceiling surfaces, and the configuration of the open stairway, then allowed the fire to quickly spread up and through the house.