Young twins die in northern B.C. fire

A family and the northern B.C. community of Mackenzie are dealing with an unbearable loss — two 18-month-old twins trapped in a second-floor bedroom who died in a Tuesday morning blaze.

Father Richard Fleury is in hospital with a collapsed lung, according to Debbra Baxter, the mother of Fleury’s wife Lanora Baxter. The family’s other child, three-year-old KateLynn, survived with her parents.

She had been unable to sleep and was downstairs with her parents at the time of the fire.

Debbra Baxter identified the twins as Joseph and Gabrielle.

“It’s very devastating, very hard, to lose somebody that close to you in the flash of an eye,” she said.

The community is rallying around the Baxters, who have spent their entire lives in Mackenzie, 200 kilometres north of Prince George.

“This is such a small community — everybody knows everyone,” said RCMP Const. Lesley Smith of the Mackenzie blaze.

“This is a tragic loss, not just for the family, but for the whole community.”

Police and fire crews were called to the home Tuesday about 7:30 a.m., and arrived to find the house engulfed in flames. “The family is devastated,” said Smith. “They are currently at Mackenzie District Hospital. … I don’t know what to say.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

“This is a tragic loss not only for the family, but also the entire community,” said Sgt. Syd Lecky, Mackenzie’s detachment commander.