Westdale fire victim ‘believed to be squatting’ on vacant property: police

Hamilton police say a man killed in a Westdale house fire Wednesday night was believed to be squatting" on the vacant property.

In an email to The Spectator, police spokesperson Jackie Penman also confirmed the victim, who was in his 20s, was not a McMaster University student.

The Traymore Avenue blaze is being investigated by the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) as well as Hamilton police.

Chief Dave Cunliffe of the Hamilton Fire Department said crews were called to a structure fire on Traymore, between Forsyth and Dalewood avenues, just after 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Cunliffe said firefighters arriving at the scene could see flames on the second storey of the house at 111 Traymore, just east of McMaster University. Crews performed a search and rescue and worked to extinguish the blaze.

Cunliffe said firefighters searching the house were met with heavy fire," as well as a hole in the floor on the second level. During the search, they located a man inside the house without vital signs.

The man was taken to hospital, where he later died of his injuries, added Cunliffe.

In a statement Friday, OFM spokesperson Sean Driscoll said the investigation into the fire is in its infancy, noting it would be premature to speculate on any causes at this time."

However, the fatal blaze comes amid a string of other fires on nearby properties, which are owned by McMaster University and slated to be demolished to make way for a new student residence building.

According to the Hamilton Fire Department's incident Twitter feed, crews were also called to structure fires on the same block on both Sept. 24 and Sept. 10. The cause of those fires is unclear.

In a previous statement, spokesperson Wade Hemsworth confirmed the other blazes were small fires" and the properties were secured afterwards.

In a statement Friday, spokesperson Michelle Donovan said there had been a number of instances" where trespassers had broken into the property despite daily patrols from our security services and ongoing measures like fencing and fence repairs to keep people out."

A resident on the street previously told The Spectator the properties have been a hot spot for both drug-use and squatting.

Donovan said when security locates a trespasser on the site, they are immediately removed" from the premises by workers and sometimes police are called in to respond to the incidents.

Hemsworth said that the properties were checked by security workers on each shift, and any property safety issues" were supposed to be forwarded to a property management company that oversees the site.

Hemsworth said that the company is responsible for maintaining the site, and promptly makes any repairs to ensure the site continues to be secure."

However, Traymore Avenue resident Jaime Ciere told The Spectator she has only seen security services checking out the property an average of three or four times" a month. She's lived on the street since spring 2021.

Ciere said she hadn't noticed any activity around the properties in recent days and questioned how the person wasn't located before the fire Wednesday night, as construction crews had begun work disconnecting the utility lines.

Donovan said the university has long-voiced" the need to demolish the homes, which will be the best way of addressing safety concerns."

She noted that the work to disconnect the utility service lines was completed on Thursday and the demolition of the homes is expected to start as soon as possible."

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com