An 86-year-old woman remains in critical condition at Hamilton General Hospital following a fire Apr. 7 at her Conestogo-area home.
She is in an induced coma due to injuries suffered after a fire broke out in her home on
Country Squire Road. Damage is estimated at $50,000, mostly in lost contents.
Woolwich fire chief Rick Pedersen says she was first taken to Grand River Hospital before being taken to Hamilton given the extent of her injuries.
“She wasn’t in good shape last night,” Pederson said Apr. 8.
“We phoned in the fire marshal because we’re unsure of her condition, if she was going to pull through or not.”
The Ontario Fire Marshal determined the cause to be “careless use of smoking materials,” Pedersen said.
He says the fire was called in at 4:50 p.m. by a volunteer firefighter who lives on the same road and noticed smoke coming from the home.
One firefighter was taken to hospital due to overexertion, but he was released that night.
Both the Conestogo and St. Jacobs stations were called to the fire, along with a tanker from the Elmira station. Roughly 45 firefighters were called to the scene and they were there until 7:30 p.m.