Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey, it's Nancy. Before we begin today, I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Crime Beat early and ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. A young Calgary couple was settled in bed on a fall evening in a small residential neighborhood on the eastern edge of the city. The girlfriend had already fallen asleep, but her boyfriend was lying awake.
He opened the window to let some cool fresh air into the room. At about 1:30 in the morning on November 18th, 2004, he heard the sound of breaking glass. He assumed someone was breaking into a vehicle, a sound not unfamiliar to people living in the city. Curious about what happened, he got up to take a look outside.
Across the complex located in the community of Applewood Park, he noticed a glow in the living room of one of the other townhouses. He watched as the light grew. The window coverings appeared to melt away. That's when he realized it was a fire. He grabbed his phone and dialed 911. The man told the operator the flames were growing and smoke was billowing out.
He could see his neighbors banging on the door trying to alert the occupants that their home was on fire. As he described the horrible scene, he witnessed someone jump out of the second story window. He hung up, quickly got dressed and ran towards the burning building to try to help the woman who had just escaped the fire.
She was hysterical, screaming for her children who were still trapped inside. That mom had no time at all, right? She had no time. You know, once you know there's people inside, it's a very different call. I'm Nancy Hixt, a senior crime reporter for Global News. Today on Crime Beat, I share the devastating impact of what at first appeared to be an accidental fire.
This is Incendiary Circumstances. Inside a bustling fire hall, emergencies don't come on a set schedule. First responders have to be ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, 24 hours a day. We could get a call right at shift change, and there's sometimes one shift, half another shift, just as the guys come in. So there's no downtime, so you're ready to go whenever it is. So
That's Doug Chern. He's retired now, but served with the Calgary Fire Department for 26 years. He worked at 12 District Station, located in southeast Calgary. It's an especially busy fire hall, as it's surrounded by residential communities and one of the city's main east-west thoroughfares is less than a block away.
Chern worked alongside firefighter Harley Spate, who is also retired after serving 27 years. I'm one of the ones that started real early in life wanting to be a firefighter. There was firefighters in my life growing up as well, like Heather has neighbors who are working for my dad once in a while. So I got to see them and they are always pretty happy guys, got along really well. So you could see even at a young age that they were, you know, it was a great thing to be a part of.
Both Churn and Speight will tell you joining the fire department is like joining a family. Camaraderie and teamwork is at the core of what they do. They have to be able to depend on each other and know that they have each other's backs in any situation. Being able to work with crews that you trust, that you know, and that we train properly. Things like good equipment, good fire protection in our duty gear.
rigs that operate properly. It's a whole big picture, I just can't say that enough. It's a whole big thread and that's what makes you able to do that work. So if something was to go wrong, if your mask quit working or something like that, there's always somebody within arm's reach, right, that can get you out to safety or you provide that role, right? One way firefighters cement that trust is through their stomachs.
Chern said it's a rite of passage to be able to cook and nourish their entire crew. That's one of the important rules of the fire hall is, you know, that's your test. Make sure you have enough for everybody and make sure it's good enough. Everybody has three or four specialty meals and we kind of rotate around who cooks. If there's six guys in the crew, then we can, you know, over the four days we rotate around different people. Sometimes there's a hall where some guy likes to cook every day.
Of course, their most important work happens outside of the kitchen. They're trusted members of the community who are always ready to lend a helping hand. It's not unusual to see them actively engaged and participating in community events, conducting fire safety inspections, and providing critical assistance during natural disasters.
Churn said it's vital to stay prepared for the variety of calls they could face each day, which can include some very difficult and traumatic events. We get a lot of medical calls. It's probably more than half our calls now. We get some false alarms, car accidents, hazmat calls. Well, my cousin used to tease me that I'd have two night shifts where I'd
Sometimes it's pretty quiet and then four days off. So he says, and I said, "Well, how many dead bodies have you seen this week?" And he says, "I've never seen a dead body." So I said, "Well, I've seen three this week." Just from different things, heart attacks or car accident or whatever. It just happened to be a busy week, so he never bothered me again. So, you know, seeing death is very different and seeing a grotesque death is beyond what most people can imagine.
So that's, I don't think you can ever, like you see, you can't relate until you've actually experienced it. You might be surprised to learn that only a fraction of the calls the fire department gets are actual fires. When you hear it's a fire, it always gets your blood flowing a little faster. So because, you know, not a big percentage of our calls are actually real fires.
There's one particular night shift that's forever etched on these two firefighters. Harley Speight said it all began with a fire alarm just after 1:30 in the morning on November 18, 2004. I remember we had already bunked in for the night, taking a rest, and the tones come in and you can tell back in those days the dispatchers had to talk, right? It's not like it is today.
But you could hear it in their voice that they had already got enough information that this was going to be a serious call, right, a working fire. So you pick up on all those cues as a senior firefighter, as any firefighter in the station. When you hear the tones, you know right away, listening to the dispatcher, that this is going to be a call of some significance.
I could see it on their faces as I spoke to the two veteran firefighters. The scenes from that night replayed in their minds. Well, we jump on the back. My position was called senior man or nozzle man. So in the front, there's a driver and the captain sit in front. And then the nozzle man, which is sort of a more senior firefighter. Harley was the more senior nozzle man on the other truck. And they were ahead of us, so we followed in.
As they pulled into the southeast Calgary community of Applewood Park, they saw a row of townhouses. One of them was fully engulfed in flames. The firefighters could feel the scorching heat as they got off the truck. There was flames out the windows, out the doors. And as I stepped out the truck, she was right there screaming, the mom. So it was pretty clear what was going on.
The mother had jumped out of a second-story window to escape the fire. Her son and daughter remained inside the fiery inferno. Once you know there's people inside, it's a very different call. She was badly injured, on the ground, inconsolable, and yelling for help. That's a mom screaming for her kids. So there was no doubt that what we had in front of us was going to be difficult.
I mean, we asked, "Where are they?" And she wasn't able to provide that information. I mean, obviously she was pretty distraught. So it is your best guess. They're in a bedroom at that time of day. So we had to get up those stairs, but you can't get up the stairs until you get some of that fire knocked down. Spate and his partner went inside through the front of the house. We pushed a line in into the main floor, got some of the fire knocked down. We went up the stairs and it was really hot. Like, it was really hot.
And you try what you can, you're moving water everywhere. And I remember as we went up the stairs, the wall is there and I knew the bedroom was there. So I just took the nozzle and pushed the nozzle through the drywall to break through the drywall and then get some water up inside the bedrooms to help get that out. It was an extremely dangerous situation. They were putting their own lives on the line to try to save the two children.
It can be frightening, for sure it can be, but your training is important, right? He recalls the hectic chatter on the radio. At one point, he had to turn it down to be able to focus on every move he made. As we were on the stairs, they were pretty soft. You could feel your knees or your feet going through it a little bit. So I could get to the top of the stairs and then I could see that they were already working, like there was crews already up there working really hard at that.
So we just stayed there for a while, got some more of the fire put out and then tried to come back down the stairs. And they were pretty compromised at the time. So that was the last time I think we walked up those stairs. At the same time, Doug Churn and his partner had gone around the back of the home and tried to get in through the kitchen. But flames had consumed the main floor. We climb up the ladders, go in the windows and we're in the back bedrooms of the kids' bedrooms.
When we got in, it was all, it's not like on TV when you see firefighters going in a building and you see flames and no smoke. The smoke is down to about 18 inches off the floor, so you really can't see anything. When we walked in, we got in the window and the ceiling had fallen down and there was probably a foot of that loose insulation on the floor. So it was really hard to find anything because you're walking on drywall and insulation. And we understood the kids were there, but it was really, really hard to search for them.
The firefighters worked as quickly as they could. They knew time wasn't on their side. The clock was ticking on how long the children could possibly survive. Smoke filled the air, making it impossible to see anything. You're just feeling around for stuff. You don't see anything. You're feeling for stuff. We're taught to do a circular search process.
Either you go clockwise or counterclockwise and your partner's always within voice communication or you're holding onto a hose or a rope or something to stay in communication so you don't get disoriented and lost. It felt like an eternity had passed, but within minutes, Doug Chern made a devastating discovery. And then when I got into the bathroom, I found something.
And I didn't know what it was. There was no, the ceiling hadn't fallen down there, but I found something. I didn't know what it was. It was about three feet long and very firm and hard. So I assumed it was one of the kids. So it was just very surreal. I hadn't experienced anything like that before. He passed the tiny body to another firefighter who was coming up the stairs. Later, it was confirmed to be the little girl. Oh, that's...
Pretty deflating, but you got to carry on. So you can't slow down. There's another child somewhere. And you just have to carry on, do your job. The other crew was in the other bedroom, and I guess that was her bedroom, but the brother had gone from his bedroom to her bedroom to look for her. And that's where they found the brother there as well. Despite valiant efforts by first responders, the two children were gone.
It was mentally and physically exhausting. Getting yourself settled down a little bit, because your heart is racing right when you're doing that. Your air tanks when you're in a fire like that get hot right, you're breathing very hot air at the time. So it was nice to get outside and get some cool air. It was a very hot fire and I did hurt my hand a little bit and I still have a piece of that sitting there right now. I think the other thing I noticed is my gear when I came out was stiff, I couldn't use it anymore.
So the gear had done its job, right? I mean, it had collapsed during the firefighting. But when you get back to the fire hall, I remember we were sitting in the apparatus floor and took my gear off and it would just stand up because it was stiff, right, from melting. So you knew you were working pretty hard at the time. But at that time when you're doing that, you don't really feel it, right? You don't notice that.
Take a minute to consider that. The fire was so intense that Spate's protective clothing was completely compromised and melted. Chern said, though they had done their best, the outcome was devastating. We were staying a little bit long past our shift time and I can't remember, I think it was actually our rookie said, "If you don't mind, I'd rather just go home and see my kids." So it's kind of a poignant statement.
The children's mother, Salma Buri, was rushed to hospital in critical condition. Her injuries were severe. Her husband and children's father, Tasin Almayahi, had been at work as an overnight security officer and arrived at the scene to see his home in flames. He was told his five-year-old son, Ali, and four-year-old daughter, Sajja, were gone.
Calgary EMS said he became so distraught that he needed to be sedated and was also transported to hospital. Fire investigator Brad Lorne was sent directly to the Foothills Hospital. As the mother was on route, and we didn't know her condition at the time. Salma Buri was badly injured. Smoke had consumed her as she searched for her children.
She had also broken both of her ankles when she jumped from the second-story window to escape the fire. She was intubated, so there's no way she could talk to us. They were breathing for her, or assisting her breathing. Loren said while they hadn't found evidence to suggest this was deliberately set, every fatal fire has to be investigated by the arson unit. It could have been accidental. And...
Again, we go to the scene thinking the worst case scenario is we've got one chance at doing this right and don't miss anything. There's a lot of people around. It's a chaotic scene at that point. Lots of fire people around doing what they have to do to ensure safety. We couldn't go in the house right away because of that.
This is usually where I share how forensic investigators go into a crime scene and gather evidence. It's different in a fire investigation. At least it was back in 2004. The arson unit in Calgary has changed a lot over the years. And while the fire department always aids in these fire investigations, the arson unit itself is now solely made up of police officers.
So investigators from the fire department still determine the origin and cause of the fire, but police detectives take over all possible criminal investigations. Back in 2004, it was a joint forces unit, and firefighters were partnered with Calgary police detectives and worked together on each case.
Brad Lorne was a firefighter turned fire investigator. The fire investigator obviously brings fire knowledge. The police detective brings police or criminal code investigative knowledge. Lorne said the father, Tasin Almayahi, told investigators he had no knowledge of the fire. He had been at work when it started.
Lorne's next step was to speak to firefighters. What did they see? Where did they find the two children? For my investigation, I need to know where they were found so we can get a better idea of what was happening in the fire. The firefighters recounted details of the deadly fire. I remember talking with the firefighters and as you said, it's devastation. They have two children.
Many firefighters careers are ended because of children involved in fire. The sad part of this is that they weren't found in their bedrooms, they were in bed. They would have gotten up scared from noises in the house and were trying to get to their mother. Lauren told me it was not uncommon to work around the clock following a fatal fire. And this was no exception.
That same morning, he attended the medical examiner's office to witness the autopsies of the two children. To determine were they alive or were they deceased. And that's really what we want to know. Were they living and breathing at the time of the fire? They were alive at the time of the fire. Salma Buri was still in hospital, unconscious and fighting for her life.
Her husband, Tasin al-Mayahi, dreaded the moment he would have to tell her their children were gone. The couple first met in the early 1990s in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia. They had fled their homeland of Iraq following the Persian Gulf War. Salma said they were engaged when she was still very young and they made plans to move to Canada where they would marry and build a life together.
Tasin arrived first in 1995. Salma followed three years later in 1998, and they were finally married. In December of that year, their son Ali was born. A year and a half later, in May of 2000, they had a little girl, Saja. Ali was just two weeks shy of his sixth birthday when he was killed. His sister Saja was only four.
On November 19th, 2004, just one day after the fatal fire, prayers for the children were held at a southwest Calgary mosque. Nearly a thousand people gathered to pay their respects. This case had a huge impact on the community.
I attended the funeral as a reporter covering the tragic story for Global News and spoke with a member of the Muslim Council of Calgary. We would ask that Allah makes it light on them and that, you know, the deaths of the children is easier on them. And we ask God that he makes it in their, sort of, they're rewarded for it extra. They tend to believe that, you know, the children are going somewhere better. So that's a major relief.
The children's tiny bodies were placed in one casket, carried out of the mosque and taken to a cemetery east of the city. They were buried together in their final resting place. At that time, Salma remained in serious condition in hospital in a coma, unaware that her children were gone. Back at the Applewood Park townhouse, there was a flurry of activity.
Grieving members of the community stopped by to place children's toys in memory of the two kids in front of the townhouse. Inside, with all of the hot spots extinguished, fire investigator Brad Lorne was trying to place each piece of furniture back in its original spot. It's our job as an investigator to go in and recreate what that person's house or room looked like.
based on what we're seeing with the markers and things like that. We're also looking at signs of where the burn patterns are and things like that, and the floor, and you know, what could have caused this fire? In less than 48 hours, investigators were able to determine the fire had started in the main floor living room, but the cause was still unknown. They studied the burn patterns and gathered any evidence they could.
We had electronic devices that would sniff things and it would have gave us a location where we should take samples and send them off to the RCMP crime lab. Lauren said there was still no indication the fire was suspicious, but there are only a few options when it comes to the cause. There's undetermined, accidental, and incendiary.
Undetermined means that anything, it's open still. You know, with the information we have, we can't determine whether it was accidental or incendiary. Accidental means that you left the pot on the stove or you did something and you were stupid and it burned something. Incendiary means that it was intentionally started. The accidental cause is always the easiest cause.
Because it ends right then. You know, whether it was you had too many plugs in an outlet or you did something with a candle or, you know, that's so simple. But to take the time knowing you only have one chance to get it right. The forensic tests would take time. And even then, the fire had been so hot and all-consuming that results might not provide answers.
Lorne said, based on all information gathered, they developed a hypothesis. They suspected that the fire was not simply a tragic accident. This was within three days of the fire. So this, from the moment we get called out to when we were making that determination that something has happened, and it's incendiary in nature, and we've got samples going off to the lab,
and just waiting for that to come back as a positive. And what is it? But there was no proof until exactly one week after the fire, Calgary police received two unexpected tips. A man and a woman each showed up at different police district offices
claiming to have first-hand information and what they told officers changed the direction of the investigation. They indicated that they knew who had set the fire. When we're hearing what they're having to say, it seems almost unbelievable. The case suddenly became a possible double homicide and what investigators learned would rip a community apart.
That's next time on Crime Beat.
Crime Beat is written and produced by me, Nancy Hixt, with producer Dila Velasquez. Audio editing and sound design is by Rob Johnston. Special thanks to photographer-editor Danny Lantella for his work on this episode. Thank you to Jesse Wisner, our Crime Beat production assistant, and thanks to Chris Bassett, the VP of Network Content, Production and Distribution, and Editorial Standards for Global News.
I would love to have you tell a friend about this podcast. There are five seasons of stories you can listen to and share. And if you can, please consider rating and reviewing Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. You can find me on Facebook at Nancy Hickst Crime Beat and on Instagram at nancy.hickst. Thanks again for listening. Please join me next time.