Fire Safety Message

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the one of the deadliest Hamilton house fires in 30 years.

It comes with a safety message to all property owners.

A fire ripped through 70 Niagara Street this was August 6th, 2016.

Trapped in the attic bedroom, 26 year old Victoria Maire and her two children, nine-year-old Robert Sheaves and 18-month-old Abagail Leblanc died.

A backyard memorial was created in honour of the lives Yvonne Leblanc lost, she still grieves knowing she’ll never see them again.

Later that same year, flames fully engulfed the rear of a home at 191 Grenfell Street.

Careless smoking was blamed for killing three people there.

Then on June 15th, 2017, Hamilton Fire crews and paramedics were called to 36 Laird drive. A fire started in the basement of this subsidized house in the middle of the night. A mother and her two older children died as a result of careless smoking.

Both behavioural and preventable according to Hamilton Fire Chief David Cunliffe.

11 people died in 2016, six in 2017.

The rise in house fires prompted the department to launch a door-to-door campaign.

It’s still up to home owners and landlords to keep them working properly.

So far this year, four people have died as a result of a house fire.

Hamilton’s Fire Chief says it’s critical to have an escape plan that includes two ways of getting out of your home.

Practice that plan and make sure you test your smoke alarms and change the batteries regularly.