Issues around fire department mutual aid agreements, building codes and firefighter training should be the subject of a broader inquest by the coroner, says the Ontario Safety League.
In a letter to the Chief Coroner of Ontario, the OSL calls for a review of fire deaths over the past 10 years, including a recent house fire that killed four members of the Dunsmuir family in East Gwillimbury.
OSL president Brian Patterson said the coroner is in a unique position to bring together the conversation on fire safety.
"Fire is the same in every community," Patterson said. "We never get to that level of discussion because we're in five or six silos."
The OSL wouldn't oppose a formal inquest into the fire that killed Kevin Dunsmuir, 55, his wife, Jennifer, 51, and their sons, Robert, 19, and Cameron, 16.
However, Patterson said that the OSL said a broad inquest has worked on issues in nursing homes and pedestrian safety in the past.
"The recommendations from the coroner's review are often common-sense, cost-effective and achievable," Patterson said.
The Dunsmuir family died in a second-floor bedroom after calling 911 from within their burning home. Last week, the Ontario Fire Marshal said the home did not have a smoke detector on the main floor, and downplayed the more than 12- minute response time from a largely volunteer service.
A fully staffed fire department was in Newmarket, six kilometres away from the Dunsmuir home in Sharon, in East Gwillimbury. The districts have a mutual aid agreement for fire service, but the Newmarket crews never got the call.
"Should you decide not to precede with a formal inquest into the Dunsmuir deaths, we believe that you should exercise your powers ... to conduct a broad review of the issues raised with respect to fire safety in Ontario," says the letter.
"The public deserves an independent review in which the many public safety stakeholders can deal openly with their areas of expertise."
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