house fire claims two › other police matters › may › deadmonton 2007 › deadmonton › edmonton

Shortly after 7:00 a.m. on May 2nd, 2007 firefighters responded to a call at 10120 160 Avenue in the city's Castle Downs subdivision.

When firefighters arrived there were no visible flames, but condensation on the windows told them a fire was likely smouldering inside.

As they went in the back door of the home they found a man in his 80s on the kitchen floor and a man in his 50s on the floor near the front door.

The older man was declared dead at the scene. EMS personnel were seen moving his body from an ambulance to a medical examiner's vehicle.

The younger man was unconscious and unresponsive and was transported to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where he was initially listed in serious condition. He was later pronounced dead.

The fire appeared to be confined to the basement on the north side of the house and firefighters began searching the rest of the residence for a possible third victim.

No one else was found and an investigtion began to determine the cause of the fire.

Edmonton fire officials described the blaze as moderate in size, taking only an hour to extinguish. Arson was not suspected. An early damage estimate was placed at $80,000 to the home and $50,000 to contents.

A neighbour told local newspapers she smelled smoke as early as 6:00 a.m., but it was so faint it didn't seem to be cause for alarm. Her daughter walked around the house and rang the doorbell, but saw no obvious signs of fire.

“I knew right away something was wrong because they’re always up really early.”

The woman who lived next door said she later saw a trickle of smoke coming out one of the vents.

“It was so simple. It was so quick,” the neighbour said. “It just shows you don't need flames shooting out a window.”

Captain Lloyd Belair, a fire investigator, spoke to media of the fire that appeared to have started in a utility room.

"We're dealing with a fire in the basement. It originated in the basement along the north wall."

"It's just a bit of a storage area. There's a couple of chairs – not a whole lot of anything, a dresser – that's where it occured, right beside the dresser against the north wall."

"The fire damage was minimal in that area but it created extreme smoke throughout the house that resulted in two fatalities. I've seen bigger fires where people got out."

"The smoke itself does pose probably the greatest hazard – the toxic smoke, the heated gases that these victims breathe in – results in, as you see today, they were just overcome."

Belair offered advice for those who find themselves faced with similar circumstances.

"Keep your mouth covered so you don't breathe in smoke, stay low – the lower you are the less smoke there will be."

Dist. Chief Jack Wozney added his own assessment.

"It would have to been going for a while to get that level of smoke in there. All the doors were shut."

"We didn't have any flames showing."

It was also reported the position of the bodies suggested the two men were trying to get out of the house when they were overcome.

The victims were identified as Jerome Venne, 85, and his stepson Greg Graf, 48. The younger man, described by a neighbour as mentally challenged, was a popular local fixture often seen walking to and from a nearby convenience store buying lottery tickets.

The senior was the oldest of seven and originally hailed from Vegreville.

Jerome's wife Lydia, who was reported to have suffered a stroke, had moved out of the home recently to live in a continuing care facility in the neighbourhood.

Neighbours said the family, who always took care of their own and nearby yards, was "quiet and nice." They had lived in the home for about 25 years.

The deaths of the two men marked the third and fourth fire fatalities of 2007.

On April 12th, 43-year-old Marilyn Lane, who had Down syndrome, died after fire broke out in her group home at 10632 50 Street. Fire investigators hadn't yet determined the cause of th $280,000 blaze.

On February 7th, navy veteran Alex Moysa, 81, died when fire levelled his small home in the Alberta Avenue area.

In 2006 there were three fire fatalities.

deadmonton 2007 - other police matters - house fire claims two