A fire chief and a housekeeper shared different stories on Monday at the inquest into a tragic house fire that claimed the lives of four members of the Dunsmuir family.
East Gwillimbury's fire chief Phil Dawson told the inquest his crews did everything they could to try to save the Dunsmuir family from their burning home in 2013. However, there was nothing his crews could have done to change the outcome.
"The issue is early detection. Smoke alarms and an escape plan and not having those resulted in a tragedy."
Dawson was the deputy chief at the time and he was there when the fire claimed the lives of Kevin and Jennifer Dunsmuir and their teenage sons Cameron and Robert.
He said crews were trying to find the Dunsmuirs and extinguish the fire at the same time, but the intense flames and smoke made it impossible.
“Because of the heat, the very low visibility, not being able to see their hand in front of their face."
When the Dunsmuirs were found more than an hour later on the second floor they all had no vital signs and according to the chief, virtually no chance of surviving.
The fire has been blamed on a clogged dryer vent on the main floor, where there was no working smoke alarm.
The inquest also heard from one of the Dunsmuir's house keepers, who just two days before the fire, did the family's laundry.
Valerie Schmidt testified that the laundry room had been recently renovated. She said there were never any issues with the dryer and that she cleaned the lint trap every week.
She also confirmed there was no smoke detector on the main floor.
The fire chief also said public education and home inspections after people move in might be the only ways to prevent a tragedy like this one.
The inquest will continue on Wednesday with testimony from investigators with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office.
