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Fire Marshal investigating fatal Machar Avenue fire

The investigation into the cause of a fire that claimed the life of one man and sent one woman to hospital is ongoing by the Office of the Fire Marshal
Machar fire
A fire at a Machar Avenue residence is under investigation by the Office of the Fire Marshal. (Photo by Ian Kaufman, Tbnewswatch)

THUNDER BAY - The cause of a weekend fire that claimed the life of one man, a dog, and sent one woman to hospital is under investigation by the Office of the Fire Marshal.

Thunder Bay Fire Rescue Crews responded to a structural fire at a Machar Avenue residence just after 3 a.m. Sunday morning.

Heavy smoke was found inside the building and two occupants were removed from the home and transported to hospital.

The man was without vital signs when he was located inside the residence and he was later pronounced dead.

A woman also found inside remains in hospital in critical care. Another occupant on the second floor is said to have self-evacuated. A dog was also found inside the home and despite efforts to revive it by firefighters, it did not survive.  

According to Chris Ter Stege, fire investigator with the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management, the investigation is underway and began with a thorough search of the two floors and basement at the residence.

“We identified a fire that originated on the first floor, specifically in the living room,” Ter Stege said. “Once that fire propagated within that room, smoke went throughout and migrated to all the bedrooms and all adjacent rooms to the living room.”

The man and woman were located in the common area of the first floor and Ter Stege said it appears they may have been trying to escape the home.

“We know where the area started for the fire, but right now we are looking at potential ignition sources,” Ter Stege said. “I have taken samples and done some testing on site but we will have to do more testing back at the lab with the Centre of Forensic Sciences. Once we get those results back, we can make a more clear determination in how this fire initiated.”

Those results could take some time, Ter Stege added. A post-mortem is also being scheduled for the male victim.

At this time, Ter Stege said there is nothing suspicious about the fire, but the investigation is ongoing.

The home did have smoke alarms and one on the second floor was heard when firefighters arrived, but Ter Stege said it is not determined if one on the first floor was working.

“There were smoke alarms on every single floor. Whether they were working or not, there was evidence of them sounding, but that is another aspect we will be looking into,” he said.

“Not having a working smoke alarm in your house is one of the leading causes of fire deaths in the province of Ontario. Having a working smoke alarm is so important because as soon as that alarm sounds, you have less than three minutes to get out of the house.”



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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