Daughter's actions saved lives, arson trial told

DIANNE WOOD

KITCHENER (Feb 22, 2005)

If Melanie Vanderzand hadn't wakened her family the morning fire began roaring through their Kitchener home, someone would have died, a fire inspector testified yesterday.

"If the fire was not discovered when it was, I'm sure I would have been investigating a fatal fire,'' said Clifford Miller, an investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office..

"There's no doubt in my mind, especially the person in the attic who only had one way out,'' he told the court

Miller was testifying at the trial of Cory Young, 19, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of arson endangering life and one count of arson causing damage to property.

Miller said the fire started on the front porch of the family home at 140 Cameron St. N. on Dec. 9. Flames entered the house through a living room window which likely broke because of the heat of the flames, Miller said.

He wasn't able to say exactly where the fire started. There were several pieces of furniture on the porch, including a couch and a chair.

Six people were sleeping in the house. They included Mary Vanderzand; her son, William; her daughter, Melanie; and Melanie's two-year-old daughter, Daniela. Mary Vanderzand's ex-husband, Brian Birch, was sleeping in the basement with their son, William.

Miller's comment about the person in the attic referred to Mary Vanderzand, who had a bedroom there.

She got out when her daughter yelled, then led her out to a second-storey landing or balcony where they stood until they were rescued by a police officer.

Miller testified that the occupants would have died of smoke inhalation first.

"Death is relatively quick,'' he said as Young, a teenager with a shaved head, listened from the prisoner's box.

All the occupants were treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.

Miller ruled out a barbecue and a propane cylinder on the porch as causes of the fire.

He found the remains of a light fixture on the porch but said there was no sign of any power to the socket during the fire.

He saw no sign of a liquid accelerant used to start the fire, but didn't rule out its use.

Under questioning by Young's lawyer, Steve Gehl, he said he doubted that a cigarette smoldering on the couch would have started the fire, considering the outdoor furniture was damp and it was 2C outside.

Miller ruled out all accidental causes.

Last week, court heard that Tara Vanderzand, a daughter of Mary Vanderzand's who wasn't living at the Cameron Street home, once introduced Young to her mother as her boyfriend.

Court heard she later made a complaint to police about Young and that he had threatened to get back at her.

The trial continues today in Kitchener's Ontario Court.

dwood@therecord.com