Fire survivor describes frantic moments of escape

Looking at the burned-out remains of where he lived, Cory Hilliard knows he’s lucky to be alive.

He and his family barely escaped a deadly fire with their lives.

"We were downstairs without any idea of what was going on upstairs," he says. "So it was an emergency to get out because we waited so long."

Emergency crews responded to a 911 call just before 2:30 a.m. Sunday, reporting a heavy fire at a home in the 5000 block of First Line Road near Manotick. Firefighters found the front of the structure fully engulfed in flames when they arrived on the scene.

Hilliard, along with his 22-year-old daughter and his girlfriend, rented the lower level, while another tenant, a 56-year-old man, occupied the main floor of the bungalow. He did not survive.

"I know I lost everything and I now have to rebuild, but this man is no longer with us," says Hilliard.

Hilliard says hours before the fire, the upstairs neighbour sent a text message to let him know that he would be using the fireplace.

“He was burning some documents and told me to expect some smoke. It was a regular routine he did it all the time,” he says. “So I did see some smoke, which I thought was fine, but then it started to smell like burning plastic, so then I walked out and I'm looking and like why is it so hazy? My girlfriend said, 'I can’t stay here anymore,' so she went outside and I said I’m going to stay here, no problem, but not even 30 seconds later I hear her yelling from upstairs, 'Get out, the whole place is on fire.'"

The family of three escaped with the clothes on their back.

“I had about enough time to put on my pyjama pants and a pair of shoes, the same for my daughter,” says Hilliard. “We had to choke our way up the stairs and, by the time we got outside, the entire place was engulfed in flames.”

Hilliard adds that when he did not see his neighbour outside, he thought to go in and help, but at that point the entire home was burning.

Firefighters located an individual inside the structure, brought him outside and assessed and began treating him.

Ottawa Paramedics say an adult male was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries and later, Ottawa police confirmed the individual died from their injuries at the hospital.

Hilliard says he lived in the home for 12 years. His neighbour had been there longer and was passionate about gardening.

"The one thing we had in common is we both loved to garden," he says, "and he would grow vegetables in the backyard and he would give all of the extras to the homeless shelters. He did that every year that was something he just did."

The Red Cross has provided Hilliard a hotel room for three days while he and his family look for a new home, and begin the long road to rebuilding their lives.

"I just gotta start over again," says Hilliard, adding he is thankful for the fundraising efforts by friends, and the community support through a GoFundMe. "I don’t have anything now, so I really, really appreciate all that everyone has done for me. It’s insane; I’m humbled by it."

The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and the Ottawa Police Arson Unit are investigating the fire, with the assistance of an Ottawa Fire Services investigator.