House Fire Update – 5 Unaccounted For

(ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES FIRST NATION, ON) – On December 14, 2016, at approximately 11:03 a.m., emergency services personnel 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 remain unaccounted for.

The scene on Townline Road remains secured and the road closed, as investigators 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 continue their investigation into the cause of the fire, under the direction of Detective Inspector Andy Raffay and Detective Staff Sergeant Scott Moore of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).

The OFM, together with The Oneida Nation of the Thames First Nation Fire Department, want to remind the public that everyone has the responsibility to keep their families and homes safe from fire. The best ways to do this are to:

prevent fires from starting

maintain working smoke alarms on every storey of your home and outside all sleeping areas to have as much time to safely escape as possible. Not only do smoke alarms save lives, they are required by law

plan and practice a home fire escape plan so everyone in the home knows exactly what to do should the smoke alarms sound in an emergency; and

to be mindful of electrical issues in the home

Police have no further information to offer at this time. An update will be released as further information becomes available.

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