A Kanata toddler who sustained severe burns to his face and limbs Wednesday remains in hospital in critical but stable condition.
"The main risk now is him catching any type of infection or illness," the boy's father, Chris McNeil, told CFRA Radio.
Fire and paramedic crews responded to a 911 call from the home on Gowrie Drive in Glen Cairn reporting a fire in the home just after 2:10 a.m. Wednesday. Investigators believe the fire may have been caused by a humidifier.
McNeil said the fire started in the boy's crib on the second floor of the home.
"I could see from my position on the stairs into his room, and the only fire that I saw at that point was in fact the humidifier, and the cord going into the wall from the humidifier," McNeil said.
“It was when (my wife) actually fully opened the door, it kind of released oxygen into the room and that's when his crib just went up in flames - just engulfed.”
The boy's parents rescued him, but he was left with second and third-degree burns to his upper body.
The toddler was given advanced life support and taken to hospital in critical condition, paramedics said. The child's mother and father were also taken to hospital.
A GoFundMe page set up by a cousin, has raised $7,000 for the family.
The toddler's father says investigators are looking at a humidifier in the room to see whether it may have been linked to the blaze.
Investigators have seized objects from the boy's room for investigation. The father says the humidifer was the only object plugged in in the room.
Humidifiers are commonly used in kids' rooms over the winter months to help relieve sinus congestion.
The home was equipped with working smoke alarms, which likely saved the family's lives, investigators said. Firefighters got the blaze under control at 2:40 a.m. Damage to the home was estimated at $100,000.
Red Cross and Salvation Army officials were at the hospital assisting the family on Wednesday.
