Halifax Fire asks residents to check smoke alarms in wake of fatal January house fires

Halifax Fire shared details about investigations into two fatal fires last January.

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency is reminding residents to check and update their smoke alarms in the wake of two fatal house fires in January.

Deputy chief David Meldrum and division chief Matt Covey discussed the investigations into the fires at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Halifax Fire has confirmed the house fires, which claimed the lives of three children in Lower Sackville, N.S., and two people in Dartmouth, were both electrical and accidental. The report also indicates there were no operating smoke alarms in either home.

Meldrum noted it’s “extremely rare” for fatalities to occur due to fires if there are working smoke alarms present in buildings.

“We know smoke alarms save lives,” he said.

Lower Sackville fire claims three

Meldrum said 30 firefighters and seven fire trucks responded to a fire at a duplex on Riverside Drive in Lower Sackville around 3:10 a.m. on Jan. 11.

Three children – five-year-old Cayson Jermaine Loppie, his nine-year-old sister Alauna Marie Loppie, and their cousin, six-year-old Chloe Margaret Greenough-Steiger – all died from injuries sustained in the fire.

Their parents and a sibling managed to escape the fire and survived.

According to the investigation, the fire started in the basement TV room near a sofa and the ignition source was a portable battery bank. The fire has been classified as accidental.

Dartmouth fire claims two

Meldrum said 35 firefighters responded to a fire at a home on Thompson Street in Dartmouth the afternoon of Jan. 24.

Two people died from injuries sustained in that fire.

The report indicates the fire started in the living room on the first floor and the ignition source was a damaged power cord to an electric heating blanket. That fire is also considered an accident.

‘These events weigh heavily’

The Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association released a statement ahead of the news conference, saying its members extend their thoughts to the families and communities affected by the fires.

“Our members were among the first on scene at both incidents and worked under extremely difficult conditions to do everything possible. These events weigh heavily on all first responders involved,” said President Brendan Meagher in a news release.

“While investigators have determined the fires were accidental in nature, the loss of life shows the need for strong public fire safety measures and accessible prevention resources.”

Smoke alarm safety

Covey urged residents to ensure they have working smoke alarms on every level of their homes and to check if they are interconnected to so if one goes off, they all go off.

“Test them monthly and change batteries annually,” he said. “If you need a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm and are unable to afford one, please call 311.”

-With files from CTV Atlantic’s Callum Smith

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