VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) -Vancouver fire investigators say an overloaded electrical circuit and excessive clutter is likely to blame for an early morning house fire on Carolina Street in East Vancouver. The 72-year-old man who lived there died after being overcome by smoke.
Steve Kulash died this morning after trying to put out the fire in his basement himself while his son went for help. Steve's 47-year-old son was taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
His other son Brian says his dad kept a lot of stuff in his basement, which fire investigators believe blocked Steve's escape and fueled the fire. "There was a snow blower by the back door that he had bought to make sure that the sidewalks were clean for the Olympic snow that never came and that's what was in front of the door, then he would've been able to get out."
Brian wishes his dad had just left the house instead of trying to save his belongings. "Against all better judgment. He was smarter than that, but just...that black smoke, it only takes a second and you're done."
Brian says his father was a taxidermy legend on the Lower Mainland, running his shop in Burnaby for more than 40 years. Steve Kulash's work was recently part of the "Ravishing Beasts" exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Captain Dan Rodocker says crews were called to the home about 3:00 a.m. He says the victim was found collapsed on the basement floor while his frantic son tried to reach him. Rodocker claims finding the man was difficult. "It was hard to find because [the fire] was in the basement, going down the inside stairwell, they were pushed back but finally got downstairs to the seed of the fire."
The Vancouver Fire Department comes across cluttered homes far too often. It seems to be more common with seniors says Fire Captain Gabe Roder. "There's a small smouldering fire going on and lots of clutter around it, it just adds to the danger. It creates a very, very difficult way of getting out."
Roder says if you know someone living this way - you need to try to help them. "Help them to make their home safer because they don't perceive their home environment as being a danger, until we come in with a fire hose to put a fire out."
But it's not always that simple says Sheila Woody with the UBC Department of Psychology, especially if the person has obsession compulsive disorder. "People who don't have that disorder, offering to help them organize might be a helpful thing. But a person who [is a hoarder], would find it to be very, very distressing."