No working alarm in Hamilton townhouse where fire killed 4, Ontario fire marshal confirms

The fire that killed four people in Hamilton last week, including two children, was sparked on an "upholstered sofa" on the ground floor of a townhouse that had no working fire alarm, according to officials. 

Ontario fire marshal Jon Pegg and Hamilton fire chief Dave Cunliffe provided an update Tuesday, calling the fire heartbreaking and "preventable." 

"We certainly don't need to be losing [children], you know, who just made it through Christmas, looking forward to New Year's... It literally breaks my heart," Pegg told reporters in Hamilton.

Around 11 p.m. on Dec. 29, first responders were called to a three-alarm fire in a centre unit in a row of townhouses near Upper Gage Avenue and Rymal Road East. The fire was "fully involved" with heavy smoke and fire visible from both the front and back of the unit, Hamilton fire Chief Dave Cunliffe said. 

The first crew to arrive was told there were people trapped on the second floor, the fire department said. Crews were met with fire, heavy smoke and high heat as they pulled out four people from the second floor. A total of six people were located within the unit and transported to hospital, police said.

The four that died were two eight-year-old children, a 40-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, paramedics previously told CBC.

The remaining two people remain in stable condition, police say. 

Pegg confirmed Tuesday the townhouse did not have a working fire alarm at the time of the fire. He said a working smoke alarm could have given the victims crucial extra seconds to escape the house. 

"On average, Ontarians incorrectly believe they have more than five minutes to escape the fire," Pegg said. "The grim reality is you likely have 60 seconds or less once the smoke alarm sounds."

Pegg also said while the fire began within the couch in the living room, it is still unclear what caused it to catch on fire.

"Careless smoking could cause that, electrical could cause that, extension cords, Christmas trees, a number of things," Pegg said. 

133 fire-related deaths in Ontario in 2022

Ontario saw 133 "fire-related" deaths in 2022, according to the the fire marshal's office, calling it "our worst year in decades." 

Cunliffe reminded homeowners and landlords that "under the Ontario Fire Code, it's clearly identified that it's the owner of the occupancy that's responsible to ensure that the fire safety systems, including the smoke alarms and [carbon monoxide] alarms are in place and are in working condition." 

The city's bylaw department involves the enforcement of maintaining alarms in residential rental units. Landlords must "have a testing and maintenance schedule for smoke alarms," the city says. 

Cunliffe said the Hamilton fire department is asking residents to test their smoke alarms and practice an escape route, in the wake of the fire.

"We need to make sure that people take this seriously," he said. 

Old '20-minute rule' no longer applies, says fire chief

"This is an issue when you see the… numbers that we're seeing and the severity of the fires that we're seeing today. This is not something that people can be complacent about," he said. 

Cunliffe said house fires have become more severe in recent decades because materials used in household items, like plastic and couch foam, cause thick black smoke that makes it difficult to breathe and see. 

"You can't breathe in. You can choke you within seconds," he said. 

"We used to have what we called the 20-minute rule. You would have 20 minutes to potentially get out somebody who is stuck in that house. Those numbers are gone. We're down to down to less than minutes just because of the chemistry of that of what's being burned," he said. 

That's why it's important, Pegg said, to make sure people have "a well thought out and practiced home escape plan."

Community fundraising for family

The fire has devastated friends of the family in Hamilton. 

Two fundraising pages created by different family friends identify the woman who died as Kassie Chrysler, along with two of her children. 

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustee Maria Felix Miller said Wednesday the children were students at Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School near Gage Park and that the flag at the school would be lowered in "memory of this heartbreaking loss and in honour of our students Lambeau, Khaleesi, and their mother, Kassie." 

The school board would also have a Critical Incident Response Team at the school on Monday to provide support.

Family friend Juliana Tavares has begun one of at least two GoFundMe pages that are raising funds to help cover funeral expenses. 

"It's almost unbearable to believe why nothing disturbed the family enough to get out," Tavares previously told CBC News.

"Our community was hit with such a tremendous tragedy and horrific loss of two beautiful young children," she said on the fundraising page, calling the kids "extremely beautiful, resilient, happy children."

"You would always find those two hand-in-hand, and helping out in anyway that they knew how to... I just want peace for those kids and everyone should know how beautiful they were," she said. 

Another fundraiser is organized by Brandy Rennick, who says her son was best friends and classmates with one of the kids.

"Kassie was a dedicated mother who did everything in her power to provide the best for her children," Rennick wrote. "Any amount helps to give this family the closure they deserve."