Fatal blaze blamed on pot left on stove.
Deputy Fire Chief Frank Lamie updates reporters about a fatal fire while Chris Williams of the Office of the Fire Marshal looks on Friday morning.
Staff photo/ANDREW PALAMARCHUK
The fire marshal has ruled that unattended cooking caused a Sunday, March 7 house fire that took the life of a man and his child.
An investigation also revealed the smoke alarm on the ground floor didn't have a working battery.
Fire crews found Ken Einboden, 44, and his daughter Britney, 12, without vital signs on the second floor of their home at 14 Kemp Square near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue. He was later pronounced dead. She was revived but died the next day.
Einboden had re-entered the burning home to save Britney after rescuing his four-month-old daughter Kendra.
The baby is fine.
Chris Williams of the fire marshal's office said a pot of oil left on the stove started the blaze.
"It is going to naturally progress from the kitchen into the hallway, into the living room and up those stairs," said Williams during a Friday March 12 news conference. "Unfortunately, Mr. Einboden is going up those stairs to rescue his daughter."
Deputy Fire Chief Frank Lamie said the tragedy was preventable.
"It shouldn't have happened...we're frustrated, very upset."
Firefighters visited about 100 households in the neighbourhood in the days after the fire and found only 40 per cent complied with the fire code.
By law, there must be at least one working smoke alarm on each floor of a home.
"To have that many homeowners who have ignored the law is just shocking," Lamie said. "Smoke alarms are so inexpensive. They're so easy to install. They're so easy to maintain."
About 50 per cent of fatal fires occur in homes with no working smoke alarms.
The fire department is stepping up a door-to-door education and enforcement campaign that started last spring.
"Smoke alarms detect fire in the early stages and can give you and your family the precious seconds you need to get out safely," Williams said. "We can't emphasize how important it is for the public to understand: fire spreads very rapidly in a home. Our homes are filled with combustible materials."
About 100 people die in fires in Ontario yearly.