Canadian Firefighter Magazine

Fire victims died of smoke inhalation: police

By The Canadian Press   

Headlines News

Dec. 23, 2016, Port Colborne, Ont. -  Police say four members of a family killed in a house fire in Port Colborne, Ont., last week all died of smoke inhalation.


Thirty-seven-year-old Tammy Burd, her children, 15-year-old old Samantha Zuvic and two-year-old Joshua Zuvic, and her grandmother Eva Burd, died after a fire broke out in their home.

Niagara Regional Police say autopsies for the four took place on Tuesday in Hamilton.

The blaze broke out early last Wednesday, with the family's two-storey home fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.

Eighty-three-year-old Eva Burd was pulled from the residence but died.

Police say the bodies of Tammy Burd and her son were found last Friday in an upstairs bedroom, side by side. Burd's daughter's body was recovered on Sunday from the main floor of the home.

Burd's husband and an uncle, who also lived in the home, managed to escape the flames.

Vigil prayers are being held for Burd and her children in Port Colborne today, with a burial mass set for Friday.

A funeral for Burd's grandmother was held on Monday.

Police say the investigation into the cause of the fire continues.


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