Fire marshal searching for cause of deadly blaze at Orléans group home
Fire investigators sifted through charred debris at an Ottawa group home Saturday to determine the origins of a fatal blaze that claimed the life of a young woman on Friday.
Office of the Fire Marshal investigator William Hay said the body was recovered from a basement bedroom after fire ripped through the group home on Old Montreal Road on Friday afternoon.
An autopsy will be required to officially determine the cause of the death, Hay said.
The young woman’s name and age have yet to be released.
Late Saturday, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services called the fatal fire at the home “an absolute tragedy.”
“Our thoughts are with the caregivers, young people and their families throughout this difficult time,” Rob McMahon said in a news release. “Our top concern is always the safety of all children and youth in care.”
McMahon said he couldn’t release any additional details about the incident at this time.
Witnesses said the fire erupted suddenly, with flames leaping out the front door of the two-storey building. A handful of people managed to escape the intense heat and heavy smoke through a back door.
Among other things, investigators are trying to understand whether the fire was the result of arson.
“It would be too early for me to say for certain whether it was intentional or not,” Hay said.
The Office of the Fire Marshal is called in whenever a fire death occurs, but Ottawa police were also on scene Saturday acting as investigators for the regional coroner.
Neighbours said the white-sided, two-storey building serves as a group home for young people in foster care.
An official with Stepping Stones Foster Care Inc., which is licensed by the province to provide residential care for children and youth under the Child and Family Services Act, was on scene as investigators continued their work Saturday. He declined to comment on the incident.
Stepping Stones supports more than 30 foster homes in the Ottawa region and provides care for up to 60 children and youth.
Neighbour Jean-François André, who lives across the street from the foster home, said the building’s front door was blown away or melted by the heat and flames.
“The windows just exploded because of the heat,” he said.
The damage to the Old Montreal Road home was substantial. Fire investigators on Saturday morning were conducting a “wet sift” of the charred debris: washing it with water and then sifting it through large, framed screens, searching for clues as to the cause of the fire and its point of origin.
Ottawa fire received a 911 call just after 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Neighbours reported smoke and flames pouring from the home on the 1100 block of Old Montreal Road, east of Trim Road.