After 11:00 a.m., Mrs. Grace Mullen put some food on the stove for the childrens' lunch, and went up to the upstairs bathroom to bath the baby. Soon, the other two children raced up the stairs screaming to their mother that the kitchen was on fire.
Mrs.
Mullen ran down the stairs to find the fire gaining headway. She ran
out of the house and across the street to neighbour Mrs. Kenneth Rose
to call the fire department. Heat and smoke blocked her attempts to
re-enter the house to save her children.
The York Fire Department switchboard received the alarm at 11:37 a.m. The Fairbank crew arrived at the scene less than a half mile away within two minutes. The three men on Pumper #1 and two men on Ladder #1 were soon joined by Deputy Chief Dollery and his driver, Chief Woods, seven off-shift men and one volunteer. Fred Smart donned a mask, extended a ladder to the second storey front window, and entered the inferno as the other crews extended hose lines. The heat and flames drove him back out of the building.
As the fire fighters fought desperately to control the fire, Mr. Richard Mullen and his mother returned from the hospital. Police had to hold Mr. Mullen back as he tried to enter the building believing his wife and all seven children were still inside. Shortly after, the three older girls arrived home from school. They talked excitedly about the fire at their house, even after they were led to a neighbour's house to be taken care of. It wasn't until later that they were to be told of the terrible tragedy.
Although
the fire had lasted a mere 20 minutes, it devastated the Mullen family
by taking it's four youngest children. Three of the children were found
in the bathroom, and one in a bedroom across the hall. It appeared that
the children died of exposure to smoke since they were not badly burned.
In an inquest held later that month, Chief Woods and Chief Gartshore both testified that the York Fire Department was understaffed. But Chief Woods admitted that more staff would not have made a difference at this fire. The Chief believed that the fire burned at least ten minutes before the fire department's arrival. He called the frame house at 37 Ashbury "a menace," and stated that such a house could not be built under the regulations of the day. However, he also testified that "houses of similar construction to the one burned run to hundreds in the township."
The Coroner's jury found no fault with the fire department or it's old equipment, and recommended "that people living in houses of such construction avail themselves of the privilege of calling in the fire department to make an inspection and to receive such recommendations as the department might deem advisable in order that such hazards might be minimized."
The
community also felt a deep sense of loss. The childrens' funerals were
well attended by dignitaries and neighbours. A local newspaper set up a
trust fund for the Mullen family. Township employees, such as the civic
workers, hydro employees, members of the fire fighters association and
the fire chief joined several donors of money which was deposited into
a trust fund at the Imperial Bank at Oakwood and Rogers Road. Church
groups, school groups and service clubs also contributed. Members of
the York Township Welfare Department worked overtime to prepare a new
apartment for the survivors at 625 Vaughan Road. Eatons, Simpsons and
Adams stores each donated furniture, and clothing, bedding and dishes
were provided by neighbours and the Welfare Department.
Despite their tremendous grief, Richard and Grace Mullen were "almost overcome by people's sympathetic generosity," and they expressed their appreciation in the Toronto Telegram and the York Times newspapers.
The firefighters used 550 feet of 2 1/2" hose, 600" of 3/4" hose, one 24" extension ladder, one 24" truss ladder, one 12' roof ladder, one axe, two pike poles, three lanterns, a 1 1/2 gallon pump can, and one fresh air mask. Water from a hydrant through two lines with 1" tips was used for about twenty minutes.
The tragic fire caused the single worst loss of life by fire in York Township's history up until that time -- a dubious record it held for three decades.