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Fatal Fire strikes in Flinton A fire in Flinton early last Friday morning took the life of one apartment dweller, and also destroyed a two storey building, which housed the Canada Post office, the Ministry of Transport office, and four apartments.
David Francis Trepannier, 47, who lived on the first floor of the building, died in the fire, which started in his apartment.
Fire crews at the Barrie/Kaladar Fire Department received a call just after 2:00 am on Friday morning, and 
proceeded to the location on Flinton Road at the western edge of the village.
When we arrived, we saw that the apartments were already fully engaged in the fire. The neighbours had tried to enter the 1st floor apartment where the deceased was living, but were unable to do so even before they phoned in the fire alarm, so we had no way to enter the building when we arrived, said Barrie/Kaladar Fire Chief Casey Cuddy.
Crews were able to remove the mail and other materials from the post office and the Ministry of Transportation office, which were located in the eastern part of the building, before the entire structure went up in flames.
Twenty firefighters answered the initial call, and it took about three hours to douse the flames, and several more hours to take care of hot spots. Two other crew members were involved in the clean up and recovery operations on Friday and Saturday
Throughout the night and the following day, police tried to locate Trepannier at friends and relatives houses in the area, although he had been seen in the building on Thursday evening and it was expected from the first that he had perished in the fire. All of the other residents of the building, three people from one apartment, and one from another, had already escaped from the building before the fire crew arrived.
It was not until Saturday morning that firefighters, under the supervision of the Ontario Fire Marshalls office, began digging through the rubble of the building and found the body of David Trepannier.
His identity was confirmed on Monday in Toronto through forensic dental records. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, the two prevailing theories being that it started from a pot on the stove, or through a lit cigarette. A final determination of the cause is expected later from the Fire Marshalls office.
Neighbours in the village of Flinton have provided three survivors of the fire who shared one apartment with clothing and other necessities, and are housing them. The occupant of the other apartment, a teacher at North Addington Education Centre, is staying with a fellow teacher.
According to Casey Cuddy, this is the first fatality that has occurred in the Barrie/Kaladar fire department. He said that fatalities due to residential fires have been on the decrease in Ontario in recent years.
There were smoke detectors in the building, and the alarms sounded. Apparently, David Trepannier had a smoke detector in his apartment, and he had received a new battery for it at Christmas time. It is not known if his smoke alarm went off.
Addington Highlands has a 911 emergency system, but it is not the newer, enhanced 911 system, which electronically fixes phone numbers with the location of calls. In this case, the Denbigh Fire department was initially called, but the error was quickly rectified.
The confusion had no effect on any of the outcomes of the fire, said Casey Cuddy, it was impossible to enter the building even before the 911 call was made.
Co-op program keeps Barrie/Kaladar FD young
Of the 22 volunteer firefighters that were involved in fighting last weeks fire in Flinton, about five of them are young people who got their start with the department through a co-op placement with the Fire department and North Addington Education Centre (NAEC) in Cloyne.
Chief Cuddy says that students from the program begin by coming to training sessions on evenings and weekends, and as their training progresses they take on supporting roles at fires.
After the co-op program ends, a number of the participants have gone on to join the fire department. If we get one in 8 or 10 to become volunteer firefighters, we are doing well, Cuddy said, adding that Two people from the co-op program have gone on the Fire College seeking to become professional firefighters, and another is trying to become a paramedic.
