Death of 5 people in Davidson: a community in shock and mourning

A fire destroyed this house on the street Ottawa to Davidson, a town located halfway between Regina and Saskatoon, on Sunday, February 18, 2024.

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The community of Davidson, a small town about 110 km southeast of Saskatoon, is in shock after a house fire claimed the lives of five people.< /p>

The tragedy occurred on Sunday, around 12:30 p.m., in this town located halfway between Regina and Saskatoon. Five people, including three children, lost their lives in the fire.

Upon their arrival on At the scene of the fire, on Ottawa Street, law enforcement and firefighters were able to extract an 80-year-old man and an 81-year-old woman from the burning residence, but they were pronounced dead at the scene. ;#x27;hospital.

After the fire was extinguished, the teams intervention teams found the bodies of three children. Their ages have not been disclosed.

Autopsies on the five victims are expected to take place later this week, according to police.

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Following their investigation, the authorities concluded that the origin of the fire was not suspicious.

Members RCMP and the Davidson Fire Department are examining the scene of the Davidson house fire.

Neighborhood resident Diane Taylor said she saw flames coming from the roof of the house, where she had often previously seen a woman and a man and their three sons.

They were cycling on the sidewalks. They were great kids. They were very charismatic and very, very kind, adds Ms. Taylor.

I don't think I've ever been so upset.

A quote from Davidson resident Diane Taylor

A toy lies on the ground at the scene of the fatal house fire in Davidson.

The owner of&# x27;cafe and catering service in Davidson, Larry Packet, describes this event as devastating for this community of approximately 1,100 inhabitants.

He specifies that the elderly people who died in the fire were the children's grandparents and that they were not from the village. They took care of the children while the parents were away.

I can't imagine what the parents are going through, and losing the mother and father as well, adds Mr. Packet.

From his Meanwhile, Davidson Mayor Elaine Ebenal explains that the entire community is deeply affected by these losses. Our hearts go out to the family, adds Ms. Ebenal.

For the president of the Canadian Volunteer Firefighters Association Brian Starkell, interviewed Monday, this residential fire is a horrible event for all the volunteer firefighters present on the scene at the time of this event.

This could be any SaskTel employee, plumber, x27;a business owner or a simple city worker, a grocery store owner or a director of a credit union or bank, said Starkell, who lives in Nipawin, Saskatchewan.

Once' they have found the deceased people, they must help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the coroner to remove the bodies and put them in a safe place. It's very moving and very stressful for the firefighters, he adds.

Brian Starkell, the president of the Canadian Volunteer Firefighters' Association, lives in Nipawin, Saskatchewan.

Brian Starkell believes that responding to a fire of this magnitude can also have an emotional impact on other first responders, such as paramedics and the RCMP.

< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Strong emotions may begin to manifest within 48 hours of responding to a tragic incident. This is when we start to see problems at home, turning to alcohol, not showing up for work, having bad habits. working practices, underlines Mr. Starkell.

It's Family Day [Monday], we want it to be a happy day, not a day full of negative emotions, he adds.

Mr. Starkell recommends that the Davidson Volunteer Fire Department seek external assistance, such as a team from the Canadian Foundation for Critical Incident Stress Management, which offers certified instructors to provide debriefing sessions for first responders and their spouses.

We had more than one debriefing session with the&# x27;team, and they also followed up later, one by one. And a year later, on the anniversary, they contacted us again to see if there were any emotions at that time, Starkell said.

With information from Will McLernon

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