(ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES FIRST NATION, ON) – At approximately 11:03 a.m., on December 14, 2016, emergency service workers responded to a house fire in the 1200 block of Townline Road. The structure, a single residence, was fully engulfed, and five (5) residents of the home were unaccounted for.
The remains of five individuals were located and removed from the scene, all have been transported to the Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto; a post mortem examination, to determine cause of death will be conducted on Monday December 20, 2016. The identity of the individuals has yet to be determined.
The investigation is continuing into the origin and cause of the fire, by members from the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM), Ontario Forensic Pathology Services – Forensic Anthropology, Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, OPP Forensic Identification Services (FIS), Oneida Nation of the Thames First Nation Police, OPP Middlesex County Crime Unit, and OPP Middlesex County detachment, under the direction of Detective Inspector Andy Raffay and Detective Staff Sergeant Scott Moore of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).
The scene on Townline Road remains secured and the road closed through the weekend, while the investigation continues.
An update will be released as further information becomes available.