A father and four children were killed when fire swept through their Townline Rd. home on the Oneida Nation of the Thames, December 14, 2016. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News.)A father and four children were killed when fire swept through their Townline Rd. home on the Oneida Nation of the Thames, December 14, 2016. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News.)
London

Fatal Fire Set By Child

Nearly five months after a deadly blaze claimed the lives of a man and his four young children in an aboriginal community southwest of London, investigators have determined the fire was set by one of the children.

Kurt Antone, 43, and his four children -- 7-year-old Keanu Antone, 4-year-old Kenneth Antone, 3-year-old Kance Antone and 3-month-old Kyias Antone -- were killed when fire tore through their Oneida of the Thames First Nation home on December 14.

Officers with the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, in partnership with the Ontario Fire Marshal, Ontario Forensic Pathology Services, the Chief Coroner for Ontario's office, and the Oneida Nation of the Thames First Nation Police conducted a lengthy investigation into the cause of the devastating fire.

On Wednesday, police announced the fire was set by one of the children who died in the blaze.

"The OPP offers its sincerest condolences to the community as it heals from the horrific loss of a father and his four young children," read an OPP news release.

The home on Townline Rd. was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on scene. Cold temperatures and winter weather conditions hampered their efforts to douse the blaze.

Oneida Chief Randall Phillips has previously suggested the age of the home could have been a factor in how quickly the flames spread.

“First Nations housing is in a crisis. The particular property that was engulfed was an older property and it was just basically kindling,” Phillips said during a news conference in the days that followed the fire.

Grief counsellors were also brought in to help the community of roughly 1,300 cope with the loss.

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