Orleans fire that killed six-year-old likely caused by electric fan. What we know.
ORLEANS − The Saturday night two-alarm fire that killed a six-year-old boy was unintentional and likely caused by a faulty electric fan, said state and local officials on Wednesday.
The fire was most likely ignited in the rear of the second floor by a fan that had been in use before the blaze, according to a joint investigation by the Orleans Fire Department, Orleans Police Department, and state police assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office and Cape & Islands District Attorney’s office.
On Monday, the boy was identified as Kyi Odeen Bourne, a Harwich Elementary School kindergartener, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up by his mother Shantal Thomas.
"There are no words to describe their loss, or the loss to our community," said Orleans Fire Chief George E. Deering IV in a statement, asking that families prepare an escape plan with two exits.
The Orleans Fire Department received reports of a fire at a house at 177 Route 6A at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday. When they arrived, firefighters saw smoke and fire coming from the second floor of the 2 ½-story home, which includes four apartments and an office, before learning the boy was missing.
Firefighters immediately entered the house and found the "seriously injured" boy who was taken to an area hospital before later dying. The fire was contained to where it started and extinguished in about 20 minutes.
Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cause of Orleans fire that killed Harwich kindergartner determined
