OPP say a body has been recovered at the scene on a fire in Meaford.
The fire broke out at the home on Sideroad 6 in the Municipality of Meaford just after 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
On Friday, firefighters, investigators from the Fire Marshal’s Office and the OPP’s Forensic Identification Unit continued to search for the elderly woman who lived there.
Police say a body was recovered around 9:45 a.m. Friday morning. Investigators also recovered five cats and two dogs that died in the fire.
“You feel sad and you have to do a job but someone just lost a loved one. It's not a good feeling you carry it for years with you, and it's just adds to all of the ones you do, and some of the guys who have been on it a long time and see so much of this stuff, it's a lot of crosses to carry,” says Carl Linthorne from the Inter Township Fire Department
It’s not known how long the two- storey farmhouse was burning before firefighters got the call but they arrived the house was already engulfed by the fire. The elderly woman who lived here was unaccounted for at that time.
The OPP’s Alina Grelick says family members have been notified but no name will be released until the identity is confirmed.
“A post-mortem is scheduled for tomorrow morning at ten o'clock in Toronto, the purpose of that is to determine the cause of death and of course identify the body. “
The fire is not considered suspicious at this point in the investigation but Linthorne says that's little comfort for families in tragic circumstances like this.
“This is sudden and people aren't prepared for this.”
The cause of the fire is not known but fire fighters and investigators with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office are continuing to dig through what’s left of the farm house in search of some clues.
