Fire that hurt man considered suspicious
Published Wednesday March 11th, 2009
Investigation Police believe an accelerant was used before homeowner dashed out of the inferno
APOHAQUI - Police suspect the fire that destroyed an Apohaqui home and seriously injured a man was deliberately set.
"It's a suspicious fire in that it appears an accelerant was used," Sgt. Bruce Reid of the Sussex RCMP confirmed Tuesday.
The Mounties and Sussex Fire Chief Bill Wanamaker combed through the charred debris from the fire that completely devastated the Sunset Avenue home of Tom deWinter early Monday morning. By noon that day, the case was handed over to the fire marshal's office for a more detailed investigation because of suspicions that the fire wasn't accidental.
The modular home, which was insured, did not have a wood stove.
Reid said police need to question the 61-year-old deWinter, who is still recovering from serious burns in the Saint John Regional Hospital.
"We are waiting to interview the homeowner," he said. "His condition hasn't changed since yesterday. He's not well enough to interview yet."
Neighbours watched just before 8 a.m. Monday morning as fire started to spread through deWinter's home. Within moments, the homeowner tore out of the front door of the house in his underwear, diving into the snow to ease his pain.
He made his way to the middle of the road, lying there with extreme burns, waiting for an ambulance as neighbours covered him in blankets. He was taken to the Sussex Health Centre by ambulance, stabilized and transported to the burn unit of the Regional.
DeWinter was the only person in the house. Neighbours say he was separated from his wife and was recently laid off from his job at the potash mine in Penobsquis.
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