Electrical failure to blame for blaze that killed 12-year-old, grandmother: fire commissioner

Afatal house fire last month that claimed the life of a much-loved Winnipeg womanand her 12-year-old granddaughterin North Point Douglas has been determined to be accidental in nature.

An electrical failure in a light fixture on the main floor of Maria Klaric's home is to blame for the Oct. 26 fire that killed the 82-year-old and her granddaughter Nicola Anna Ida Pangman-Klaric, the fire commissioner's office said Thursday.

The fire left the community devastated and speculation about its cause quickly swirled, after four other fires in the neighbourhood were set that morning.

Mattresses, a chair and a garage were burned. Police have charged a 16-year-old boy with setting those fires.

Nicola was remembered by her parents as an award-winning student who had already touched many lives in her tight-knit community.

Her grandmotherwas also remembered after the fire as a caring woman, whohardly ever spent any money on herself and instead put her family first, giving what little leftover cash she had to her church.

One of Maria's daughters and her grandson were also in the home at the time of the early morning fire, but were able to escape in time.

The fire caused an estimated $340,000 in damage. A spokesperson for the fire commissioner couldn't say if smoke detectors were working the morning of the fire.