Fire marshal continues to investigate Riverdale home fire

Area residents identified the victim as Angela, who they say lived by herself in the two-storey house on Withrow Avenue east of Pape Avenue.

Kyle Haccius ran to the scene when he heard someone calling for help around 4:20 a.m.

"There was this kind of orange blaze," he said. "So I immediately got on the phone and called 911."

The occupants of the house next door, a family of three, were already outside. "There was an older mom and father and then there was a younger gentleman. It was easy to pick out the one lady in a bright red housecoat and the two guys in underwear and barefoot in the snow," Haccius said. "You could tell that they had gotten out rather quickly. They didn’t have time to get dressed or call 911."

Haccius said he saw "jets of flame" coming out of the window, the door and the sides of the burning home.

"After that it had moved up to the second floor and then it was really billowing out the attic window, and then it collapsed."

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Dominic Tustin said he used to see Angela gardening or at local shops. "I never went in the house. She kept to herself."

Peter, who didn’t give his surname, said Angela used a walker to get around and worked at a nursing home before she retired.

"She was very nice to me," he said. "It’s just too bad."

The homes adjacent to the collapsed house were also damaged by the fire.?"It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like that before. The whole house is down," said Kathleen Wolfe, whose sister and brother-in-law live to the east of the collapsed home and are away in Africa. "It’s a shame. It’s devastating to have that happen to a woman on her own."

Wolfe claimed Angela was a hoarder who had "piles of newspaper" in her home.

"She had animals in the attic space, and there were concerns," claimed Wolfe. "Obviously when you get animals in your attic, you’re worried about wiring, and they’re older homes, they’re over 100 years old."

Wolfe said the fire department and social services had been notified about the hoarding. "The fire department came out but she wouldn’t let them in," Wolfe said. "I think that the authorities have done what they could for this lady. Judging from what my sister said they have tried, but you can’t force people to open their door."

The fire marshal’s office continues to investigate the cause of the three-alarm blaze.

Police wouldn’t confirm a media report that the victim died of smoke inhalation.