06-05-2025
Investigators release new details on two tragic Halifax-area house fires
No operating smoke alarms were found in either of two tragic house fires in the Halifax area earlier this year, fire investigators say.
Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency said in a statement posted to its website Tuesday that both fires were accidental and the ignition source was electrical.
The fire department did not release further details, but said it will hold a press conference on Wednesday afternoon about the investigation.
Three children died following a fire at their home on Riverside Drive in Lower Sackville on Jan. 11.
Chloe Margaret Greenough Steiger, 6, Cayson Jermaine Loppie, 5, and Alauna Marie Loppie, 9, died as a result of the early morning fire. Two adults and a two-year-old child survived.
Fire officials said the fire began in the basement TV room.
On Jan. 24, another fire broke out at a house on Thompson Street in Dartmouth. Fire investigators say the fire started in the living room.
Ron Dunphy, 83, was pulled from the fire by his partner of 25 years, Francis Anopuechi.
Dunphy died in hospital on the day of the fire, and Anopuechi died a few days later due to injuries sustained in the fire.
