No working smoke alarms in fatal house fire
Three-year-old Cayden DeckerLandry was left alone in the basement for less than five minutes while his mom cooked breakfast upstairs.
But that was enough time for the toddler to become overcome by smoke from a fire that began on a couch. Police suspect, but cannot prove, the fire was started with a lighter Cayden was playing with, said homicide Det. Sgt. Peter Thom, who led the investigation into the three-year-old’s May 1, 2017, death.
There were no working smoke detectors in the 240 Golden Orchard Dr. home, he said. Had there been, tests done by the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) showed it would have taken about 40 seconds for the alarm to sound, likely alerting his mom to rescue him.
“It’s surprising how quick it can take,” Thom said.
It took more than a year to complete the investigation, coordinating evidence from the coroner, fire marshal and police — who were mandated to lead the investigation because of a protocol in Ontario that police investigate all sudden deaths of children under five. The OFM recreated the basement scene, testing to see how quickly the fire could have begun.
Cayden had been living with his mom, Susan Decker, for less than a year in the basement of the semi-detached Mountain home near Garth Street and the Lincoln Alexander Parkway. The home is owned by an extended family member who was not there at the time of the fire.
His father, Chance Landry, was in the midst of a custody battle — he wanted his young son to live with him and Cayden’s older
brother in Sudbury.
In an interview after Cayden’s death, Landry described his sweet and silly son as “the happiest little guy.”
He couldn’t understand how his son could be gone and was searching for answers.
“I would have run through flames and died with my child so he wasn’t alone,” he said at the time.
Police shared the investigation findings with Landry this week. He could not be reached by The Spectator.
It’s unclear where Cayden’s mom went after the fire.
Thom said going into the investigation he was “open to all possibilities.” But now equipped with the OFM finding the case will be closed without any criminal charges.
Not having working smoke alarms is a provincial offence. However, no such charge was laid by the Hamilton Fire Department in this case.
Marta Jolly, who lives with her family in the attached semi, said the community “feels for the family in their loss.” On the day of the fire, her mother was home and was only alerted something was wrong when smoke started billowing into their home.
It was a chaotic scene, with witnesses reporting Cayden’s mom came out crying that her baby was downstairs. By the time firefighters arrived, flames were shooting out the basement window and it took them several minutes to find the three-yearold.
Jolly and her family were displaced for two months, but she says that was only a minor inconvenience — nothing compared with their neighbour’s suffering.
“It was hard (coming back to the house) knowing what had happened,” she said.
The fire has made her extra careful in their family’s own fire safety.
Through the tragedy the neighbourhood has grown closer, she said, adding that where she used to maybe say a passing hello they now take the time to get together.
“Everybody feels like they went through that together.”