by Connie Tabbert
Editor
HALEY STATION — A late-afternoon house fire claimed the life of a 57-year-old Haley Station woman on Tuesday.
Whitewater Region Township firefighters responded to the 9-1-1 call around 4:30 p.m., Fire Chief Wayne Heubner said.
“The fire is under investigation,” he said. “There was a fatality.”
Police report a neighbour noticed smoke coming from the home and called 9-1-1. Heavy smoke prevented anyone from entering the home.
Chief Heubner, along with the OPP and the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office, are investigating the cause of the fire. Const. Mark Yarmel is leading the OPP investigation. Foul play is not suspected.
Karen Dombroskie, who lived alone, died in the fire. A postmortem examination has been ordered.
Firefighters from Cobden and Haley Station firehalls responded with pumpers and tankers. Firefighters from the other three stations also arrived with tankers, Chief Heubner said.
“We had about 40 firefighters respond,” he said.
While some firefighters were sent home throughout the night, others remained on scene to guard it until the investigation concluded, he said.
Chief Heubner said all stations were paged within minutes of each other.
“Haley firefighters were there nine-and-a-half minutes after the call went out,” he said.
Three arrived in a pumper truck, two on the tanker and two in their personal vehicles, he said.
“I was one of the first on scene,” Chief Heubner said. “I knew no one could live through that smoke. It was very intensive smoke.
He noted a flash-over occurred while he was there, which blew out the home’s front windows.
“When a house flashes like that, you know it’s super-heated inside,” he said.
While the firefighters weren’t 100 per cent sure Ms. Dombroskie was in the house upon arrival, the chief said it was devastating when they knew for sure she was there.
“We did our darndest to find her but it was well into the evening before we did find her,” Chief Heubner said.
One of the things Chief Heubner had to consider was many of the firefighters are young fathers, and he doesn’t want them dying to save a woman he figured was already deceased.
Since amalgamation, Chief Heubner said this is the first fatality in a house fire,” he said.
“The guys were good,” he said. “It’s sad but true, but the Haley guys have seen a lot of death in Whitewater because of Hwy. 17.”
A fire is so devastating, he said.
“After 40 years, I’m still in awe of its destructive power,” the chief said.
The firefighters set up a great water shuttle, getting water from the fire hydrant located on the edge of Cobden at Astrolabe and Pembroke streets, he said.
“It’s a straight run of about eight kilometres,” he said. “We never ran out of water.”
Chief Heubner said he was able to watch his team fight the fire.
“I saw how the training paid off,” he said. “They worked like clock work to knock down the fire.”
He noted it flashed off and on throughout the evening because there were a variety of items in the house that were fuelling the fire, such as clothes, furniture and papers.
It was a very trying situation, made moreso by the fact family was at the scene, Chief Heubner said.
Bill Hay from the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office, complimented the team of firefighters under Chief Heubner’s command.
“Mr. Hay’s complimented me on my very professional team,” he said.
Chief Heubner said the cause of the fire is not yet known. Mr. Hay took samples at various places throughout the home so tests could be done, he added.
“I expect we’ll know in a few weeks what caused the fire,” he said.
