A house fire on John Street in Orillia on Wednesday has sparked an ongoing investigation by the Orillia Fire Department.
Deputy Fire Chief Ashley Noganosh says crews were called to the fire just after 12:30 p.m.
“We’re uncertain of where it started,” she said of the fire that gutted a two-storey brick home, “but when we arrived, smoke was coming from the (right) side of the house from a window.”
Noganosh said she is unsure what caused the fire.
“We haven’t been able to determine that at all, just because we haven’t got to do our investigation yet,” she told OrilliaMatters late Wednesday afternoon.
The fire does not appear to be suspicious at this time, she says.
Noganosh was unable to confirm if the home was equipped with working smoke alarms.
In addition to firefighters from both Orillia stations and volunteer firefighters, pumper trucks from Ramara, Severn and Rama assisted with battling the blaze.
Noganosh says firefighters faced challenges gaining access to the house from the road but were able to contain the fire.
She was unable to confirm if crews were able to locate the family’s missing pets — a mixed dog named Ace and a cat named Jizmo.
James, Gary and Tom Fraser, longtime residents of the house, lost everything in the fire, including their belongings, essential medications, and the nearly paid-off home itself.
Their niece, Tracy Ross, spoke to OrilliaMatters about the impact of the fire, calling it a “total loss,” saying nothing can be salvaged.
The brothers had lived in the home for 20 years but did not have insurance, leaving them with no financial recourse to rebuild.
“They’re men of few words,” Ross said. “They’ve always been like that.”
The Fraser brothers were not home when the fire broke out, as they were attending their sister-in-law’s funeral. The tragedy follows another recent loss — their brother died six weeks ago.
North Simcoe Victim Services has been called in to assist them. The brothers are in immediate need of clothing and basic necessities.
Ross described them as “very low maintenance” but emphasized they will require support to get back on their feet.
She provided the following clothing sizes for anyone able to donate:
- James: 40 waist pants, XL shirt, size 13 shoes
- Gary: 38 waist pants, XL shirt, size 12 shoes
- Tim: 36 waist pants, large shirt, size 12 shoes
Ross is asking anyone who can help to reach out to her at [email protected].