Fire investigators from the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) are investigating two fires on opposite ends of London in a matter of hours.
A massive fire destroyed a house at 365 Foyston Road in the Byron area around 1am. It took London Fire Brigade a few hours to put out the blaze, which neighbors said was shooting up both sides of the house as well as the roof.
“A significant amount of fire has spread throughout the home and it has compromised the structural integrity of it,” said Mike Ross, an investigator with OFM.
With London cops guarding the scene, detectives wouldn’t say they thought it was suspicious, just telling CTV News it’s still under investigation.
Neighbors, who didn’t want to be identified, were worried about the home’s occupant, a single man in his 40s named Ken.
Late Saturday morning, Ken’s father stopped by and said he had spoken to his son, who is currently in hospital.
Because of the serious damage inside the house, the investigators are struggling.
“We’re essentially going to try and find a way to support the wall and part of the floor so we can actually walk over it,” says Ross.
London Police, the London Fire and a provincial fire investigator are investigating 365 Foyston Rd. in London, Ont. after an early morning fire burned out the home on Saturday 30 April 2022. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
“Part of the floor in the center has been damaged and you can’t go two or three feet in through the main entrance because you’ll fall straight to the floor.”
It is one of two fires investigated by OFM investigators on Saturday.
An accidental fire Friday afternoon at 392 Briar Court in north-east London caused nearly $650,000 in damage and injured a London firefighter.
“We’re here because an incoming firefighter, a Captain, had a medical episode putting down the fire,” said Michael Bird, an OFM investigator.
“He had to be transported to the hospital. He spent the night in hospital and was discharged in good health. Injury is our mission to respond to any injury or fatal fire and also great loss.”
Back on Foyston Rd. The investigation is ongoing but Ross cannot yet confirm an origin or cause.
“We work on evidence, not assumptions, but nothing has been confirmed or disproved,” says Ross.
“We’re basically just following the objective process we’re following and what comes out at the end is made evidential.”
