2 men killed in North York house fire
Posted November 29, 2012 5:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Careless smoking may have caused a house fire near Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue that killed an 82-year-old father and his 52-year-old son.
Two other family members, another son and his 80-year-old mother, were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation Thursday morning. Two firefighters were also taken to hospital for an arm injury and minor smoke inhalation.
“My brother and his older son — they can’t walk — and they didn’t make it,” said Kay Pidhirney, the elder victim’s sister. “They got burnt. Very sad.”
Fire crews were called to the home on Charrington Crescent around midnight where they found George Mitanis’s body on the main floor of the home and the body of Brian in the basement.
Firefighters rescued the mother from inside the house. Another adult son, Richard, 42, was standing outside when crews arrived.
The family lived in that home for more than 40 years and the sons, all their lives.
Investigators from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office were called to the scene to help pin down the cause.
“The way things are right now, it could be related to smoking,” Toronto Fire platoon chief Tony Bellavance said.
“It started in the basement in a mattress.”
