Smoke inhalation killed woman found in house fire aftermath: investigators

A woman who died in an early morning house fire in the city’s east end last Thursday was killed by smoke inhalation, investigators have concluded. 

Investigators with the Ontario Fire Marshal's office made that conclusion, and have also ruled the cause of the deadly blaze at 640 McPherson Street as accidental. Firefighters on scene last week found the woman’s body, along with several dead cats, during a secondary search of the building.

“On our primary search there was so much smoke we couldn’t see very well. We felt our way around and we didn’t find anybody. After the fire was knocked down we got in again for a secondary search and that’s when we discovered the deceased,” Thunder Bay Fire Service platoon chief Val Fontaine told reporters shortly after the fire was brought under control.

The fire completely destroyed the small house.  

The name of the victim has not been released.