WOMAN KILLED, HUSBAND SURVIVES FARMHOUSE FIRE IN A RURAL
AREA NORTHEAST OF BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO
January 21, 2015
CLARINGTON - One
woman died but her husband managed to survive when a farmhouse in a rural area
northeast of Bowmanville went up in flames early Wednesday.
Crews arrived at the burning home on Concession Rd. 5 near
Hwy. 18, north of Newtonville, after receiving a 911 call around 2:15 a.m.,
Clarington Emergency and Fire Services said.
“The first truck in reported the structure was fully
involved,” Fire Chief Gord Weir said at the scene. “A male occupant was out
front of the house in distress with severe burns to his feet and hands.”
The chief said the middle-aged man told firefighters he was
awakened by the fire and fled the home believing his wife was right on his
heels.
“What he told our first-in officer was he thought his wife
was behind him,” Weir said. “He got to the door, realized she wasn’t and then
called 911.
“And then he tried to get back in to get her, but the smoke
and fire was just too intense.”
The man was rushed to a local hospital with bad burns and
suffering smoke inhalation. He was later transferred to the trauma centre at
Sunnybrook in Toronto.
Meanwhile, firefighters battled the blaze through the night
knowing the man’s wife was likely trapped inside.
By late morning the flames were doused and crews located a
body among the charred remnants of the home.
It will be up to the coroner to officially confirm the
victim’s identity, Weir said.
The couple, whose names have not been released, lived alone
in the old farmhouse.
There was also a horse on the property, which was not hurt
by the fire.
The cause of the blaze is not yet known. The Ontario Fire
Marshal’s office is investigating.