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London, Ont., woman badly burned in street tent fire earlier this month has died

The 31-year-old woman was sleeping in a makeshift tent on the sidewalk on Dundas Street in front of the Ark Aid Mission when it up in flames. She suffered burns to nearly half her body.

Parents say Olivia Clark died Saturday at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto

Rebecca Zandbergen · CBC News ·
Sean and Stephanie say this photograph of their daughter, Olivia, was funny and a dedicated friend to those who loved her.
The parents of Olivia Clark say this photo of her was taken the last time she spent Christmas with them. (Submitted)

A woman who was badly burned in a fire when her tent went up in flames in London, Ont.'s Old East Village has died in a Toronto hospital.

"Olivia took a turn for the worst Thursday morning," said Olivia Clark's father, Sean Clark, in an email to CBC News. 

"The hospital did everything they could but Olivia's injuries were too extensive," Clark said. "She was sedated, pain free and passed away peacefully with us there at 1:45 Saturday April 15th." 

Olivia had been sleeping under a tarp earlier this month when a fire broke out and burned nearly half her body. She and some of her friends had been sleeping on the sidewalk on Dundas Street outside Ark Aid Mission.

"They were trying to create some heat for the evening," her dad said in an interview with CBC News last week. "The temperature had gone down a little bit. They had an open butane flame and they were burning hand sanitizer. At some point during the night it had got tipped over and that ignited the fire."

Sean says this photo of the couple's three children hangs in the entrance hallway of the family home, taken in better times. "It's now hanging in Olivia's hospital room so when she wakes up, she'll know mom and dad are coming soon," said Sean.
Sean Clark, Olivia's dad, says this photo of the couple's three children hangs in the entrance hallway of the family home, taken in better times. (Submitted)

The family has spoken passionately about the many friends Olivia had in her community in London, and planned to visit the city to meet with some of the people Olivia knew and to thank them for supporting her over the years.

"We are going to ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to the Ark Aid Street Mission," the family said.

The family said donations can also be made to London Cares, another service Olivia relied on. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca Zandbergen

Host, Reporter

Rebecca Zandbergen is from Ottawa and has worked for CBC Radio across the country for more than 20 years, including stops in Iqaluit, Halifax, Windsor and Kelowna. Most recently she hosted the morning show at CBC London. Contact Rebecca at rebecca.zandbergen@cbc.ca or follow @rebeccazandberg on Twitter.

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