Grieving mom critical of fire service
Mother of student killed in 2016 claims information withheld
The grieving mother of fatal fire victim Andrew Kraayenbrink read aloud two “damning” paragraphs from an Ontario Fire Marshal’s report Monday, as fellow supporters of licensing rental houses accused Windsor’s fire department of misleading city council.
At a Nov. 20 meeting, Windsor Fire and Rescue Services chief fire prevention officer John Lee read out only the first two paragraphs of the OFM’s conclusion into the Oct. 26, 2016, fire that ripped through a Rankin Avenue rental house shared by six students, including Kraayenbrink, 19. Lee stated there were three functioning smoke alarms — in the basement, on the landing between the basement and the main floor and on the second floor.
But the next two paragraphs — the final two of the report — contained crucial information that makes a compelling argument for approving a licensing system that includes mandatory inspections by fire, building and electrical officials, the group said.
The report says there was “no evidence” of a working smoke alarm near the front bedroom on the main floor and called this a contravention of a section of the Ontario Fire Code.
This was “significant” because “it contributed to the delay in detection of the fire by the home’s occupants,” the final paragraph says.
“The delayed detection resulted in the advanced fire conditions faced by the occupants as they considered their escape from their home,” it continues.
After reading the excerpt during a news conference Monday, Kraayenbrink’s mother, Jennifer Verbeek Depooter, said: “Can I read it again? Because it says it all.”
Then she read it again.
The group contends that if there was a licensing system in place, requiring regular inspections, with landlords paying the costs through licences, Kraayenbrink may not have perished because the smoke alarm would have been better placed to alert him. All the other student renters made it out alive, but Kraayenbrink was found a few feet from a second-floor window.
The OFM report says the fire started on the main floor but ruled the cause as undetermined.
Depooter said she and her family are fighting for a licensing system because “the thought of another family going through this, other siblings, is unbelievable.” She said she has no intention of suing.
“We have to do our best to ensure better safety for these young people who are here for an education,” she said.
The issue is expected to return to city council because it was deadlocked on Nov. 20. Motions to approve a licensing system and then to follow the staff recommendation to “note and file” the issue were defeated by 4-4 votes, with two councillors declaring conflicts and Coun. Bill Marra absent.
During the news conference Monday held at the Cardinal Place retirement home, owner Mike Cardinal said the group is calling for a licensing system in Kraayenbrink’s name, to protect tenants from unsafe conditions.
“Why did the fire prevention chief not read those two damning concluding paragraphs from the OFM report?” Cardinal asked. “Was the limited reading intended to undermine advocacy for rental licensing? Would the inclusion of the two paragraphs at that meeting have influenced undecided city councillors to vote for residential licences?”
Windsor fire Deputy Chief Andrea DeJong said it “wasn’t the case” that Windsor fire officials deliberately avoided saying something. “I think Mr. Lee was asked a specific question (about the number of smoke alarms) to which he gave a specific answer,” she said.
“Keep in mind, we received the report two hours ahead of time, and it was the first time we’d seen any kind of note that there was any question about the location (of the main-floor smoke alarm),” she said Monday.
“Could it have been in a better position? I think the answer to that is probably absolutely yes. Or could another one have been in place on the main floor? Sure.”
On Sunday, fire Chief Steve Laforet told the Star that while his department had concerns about the placement of the smoke alarm, it was determined it didn’t warrant charges against the owner.
To find out what happened to her son, Depooter asked for the OFM report and received it a few weeks ago. She also asked for the Windsor fire service’s report but had to make a freedom of information request. When it arrived last week it was 60-per-cent blacked out, she said. Researching Windsor statistics, Depooter said she found a fire fatality rate that was highest in the province from 2012 to 2014 and second-highest in 2015 and 2016.
“The fatality rate for fires in Windsor is phenomenal,” she said, citing other stats for structure fires and fire injuries ranking Windsor among the worst of surveyed cities in Canada.
“This is not something your city can be proud of. I sent my son to your university for an education,” she said. “Brilliant young man. Had I known these statistics for your city I would never have sent him here.”
Asked about Windsor’s poor fire stats, DeJong said Windsor’s are quite low compared to other cities that don’t provide their statistics to Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada. “They are what they are,” she said of the stats. “But you have to be careful taking them out of context.”
But DeJong said Windsor Fire isn’t opposed to licensing: “We really support some form of it.”
Gary Langill, one of the longtime residents of the university neighbourhood who have been fighting for a licensing system for more than 12 years, asked: “If it’s not going to cost taxpayers money and it’s about safety, why wouldn’t you do it?”