The Toronto Star
TORONTO, Canada — Fire officials are warning against careless smoking after four people died in three fires on the same day last week.
“In more than 38 years in the fire service, I do not recall three separate fires that claimed lives on a single day,” said Toronto Fire Chief William Stewart at a news conference Thursday.
Careless smoking caused two of the fires on Sunday, which killed two men and a woman and caused property damages of more than $1 million. The cause of a third fire on Sunday, which killed a man in a wheelchair, has not been determined.
Chris Williams, manager of fire investigation services for the Ontario Fire Marshal, said careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths in Ontario. Between 2004 and 2009, 71 people died in Ontario due to fires caused by careless smoking.
“Smokers should smoke outside and need to take responsibility for properly putting out their cigarette butts,” Williams said. “Cigarette butts should be extinguished by putting them in water or using large, deep ashtrays.”
The first fire began about 5 p.m. in a rooming house on 22{+n}{+d} Street in Etobicoke. A man on the first floor, who had left a cigarette unattended, was found dead outside his room.
During the evacuation of the rooming house, which had 15 residents, the exit door became lodged open and smoke rose through the building. The other victim was found on the second floor and died a short time later from smoke inhalation.
A third man was critically injured.
Williams said officials found several fire code violations and Toronto fire services is proceeding with charges.
Another fire on Sunday claimed the life of a 74-year-old man in a wheelchair in a highrise condominium on Southport St., in the High Park area. His body was found on the 15th floor, where he had been trapped by the blaze. The cause of that fire has not been determined.
The day’s third fire killed a 61-year-old woman in a semi-detached home on Thyra Ave., in Danforth Village. The blaze was caused by an unattended cigarette, fire officials said. There were two fire alarms in the house, but one had no batteries and the battery in the other had been installed backward.
“These tragedies were preventable and we in the fire service are devastated. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is that our fire-safety messages do not seem to be getting through to some people,” said Stewart.
Stewart said 17 people have died in Ontario due to fires this year, eight of them in Toronto. Between Jan. 1 and April 1 of last year, 33 people lost their lives to fires in Ontario.
“You cannot be complacent, thinking that a fire ... only happens to other people. You have to do your part by following a few basic fire-safety tips in your home,” he said.
Stewart highlighted four main points of safety and prevention: Maintain working smoke alarms, take all alarms seriously, practise home fire-escape plans and, if you smoke, only light up outside.
Copyright 2010 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited