An apartment fire that killed three teenagers in Whitby four years ago was the subject of a coroner’s inquest Wednesday.
On April 29, 2012, police were called to an address at 917 Dundas Street West in Whitby. The apartment was being rented by 19-year-old Benjamin Twiddy at the time. His two friends, 19-year-old Holly Harrison and 17-year-old Hollie Towie, were both there visiting Twiddy.
When the fire broke out, one of the teens managed to call 911 at around 12:25 a.m. that morning.
Firefighters responded quickly, but were not able to rescue the teens from the apartment. All three were pronounced dead on the scene.
At the inquest, emotions ran high as family members and the firefighters who responded recalled the night.
“In this particular situation, there was so much smoke you couldn’t see two feet in front of you,” firefighter John Sotiriou, who was the in the first truck that arrived at the apartment, told the inquest Tuesday.
“It was – every surface seemed to be on fire.”
Sotiriou described the conditions and explained how he was forced to search the apartment on his knees.
He fought tears while describing the moment they found the victims.
“From what I recall, I think they were basically right at the window, right at the wall… it looked like they were… huddling together,” he said breaking down into sobs.
The fire took hours to put out and the Ontario Fire Marshal was called to investigate the cause.
At the time of the incident, Whitby Fire Chief Michael Gerrard told CP24 that the unusual layout of the apartment may have hindered firefighters.
The fire department’s response time will be put under examination.
The inquest continues tomorrow.
