War vet killed in fire near Barrie

An 82-year-old war veteran is dead after a fire which destroyed his house near Barrie early Saturday morning.

It happened on Henderson Drive in Innisfil around 2 a.m.

Neighbour Helen Miller said she smelled smoking coming from the home of Al Poirier and phoned the police. She then alerted the man’s 53-year-old son Andrew, who lives next door.

The victim’s son entered the burning home and tried to save his father but the flames and smoke were too intense.

“He had no shirt on he just ran out of the house and jumped the fence to the back(of the home),” Miller’s daughter Mandy told CityNews.

Andrew was treated in hospital for smoke inhalation and released.

Neighbours described Porier as a sweet man and a proud veteran.

“Every parade he’d go to Toronto, he’d go all over for them. He was so proud of his badges and his uniform,” said Miller.

The Ontario fire marshal’s office and South Simcoe police are investigating the cause of the fire.

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