An elderly woman is dead after a house fire in the community of Georgian Bluffs on the outskirts of Owen Sound.
Investigators from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office (OFM) spent Friday looking for the cause of a fire that claimed the life of a 67-year-old woman.
A 23-year-old man, said to be the woman's grandson, suffered life-threatening injuries after reportedly going back into the home to try to save his grandmother.
Grey County OPP and firefighters were called to the fire (on 30th St. W.) at about 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The fire is believed to have started in the lower level of the single family, split level home.
Bob Canham lives nearby and heard screams for help from people on the street but it was already too late.
“There was nothing we could do except wait for the fire trucks by that time the flames were coming out the windows.”
Neighbours say the woman who lived here was not well and used oxygen tanks to help her breathe. An autopsy will be held on London on Saturday to determine cause of death.
“The gentleman did a quick internal attack, they wrapped that up quickly and completed some searches and unfortunately located a victim,” says Inter Township Fire Chief Carl Linthome.
Neighbours in the area say they heard what sounded like two explosions as flames spread through the house. Fire fighters did remove several tanks of oxygen from inside and the home.
The OFM is investigating whether the oxygen was a contributing factor in the blaze.
“From what we have uncovered so far it was a fire first. Our investigators are looking for canisters inside that might have caused the noises heard by witnesses,” says OFM Fire Investigator Jeff Minten.
The investigation has not yet determined if there were working smoke alarms in the house.
With files from Canadian Press
