CFJSR Cpl Patrick Painter, Killed in House Explosion in Napanee

[211RadOp]

From the Toronto Sun

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/06/08/14311061.html

Soldier disappears after mysterious explosion
By JASON MILLER, QMI Agency

Last Updated: June 8, 2010 8:24pm


BELLEVILLE, Ont. - Residents in a Napanee neighbourhood fear the worse has happened to a Canadian soldier living on their street after his house exploded Tuesday afternoon.

Napanee OPP said the man is still unaccounted for after the ferocious blaze flattened his house and that of his next door neighbour.

Const. Chris Quenneville said when the officers arrived at the scene around 11:23 a.m., the two residences were fully engulfed in flames.

“His whereabouts are not known,” she said. “We are trying to determine if someone was inside or not, because the owner-occupant is unaccounted for.”

Quenneville said the investigation is ongoing and the scene has been secured by the Ontario Provincial Police. She said OPP officers have begun a joint investigation with the Fire Marshal's office.

Investigators were unable to properly examine the scene late into Tuesday evening because of hotspots, Quenneville said.

She said the investigation would run overnight in an attempt to determine if anyone was there. Police confirmed that families from neighbouring homes are all accounted for.


More on link.

 

[muffin]

Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.

Bill Hrynick says he couldn't believe how quickly the house next door to his Napanee home erupted in flames Tuesday after an unexplained explosion.

"All of a sudden it just took right off into a great big ball of fire," Hrynick said Tuesday afternoon, standing across the street from the blackened remains of the house at 226 Queen St.


The two-storey home on a quiet residential street in the town's east end was little more than a blackened basement by early afternoon, as firefighters poured water on the smouldering remains.

Only one twisted piece of a west wall was visible from behind yellow police tape that cordoned off the house and three neighbouring properties.

There was no sign of the home's roof. Concrete steps seemed to lead to a charred pit.

By late Tuesday afternoon, authorities were still saying that the lone occupant and owner of the home was unaccounted for.

His name was not released but neighbours identified him as XXXX XXXXXX, a member of the Canadian Forces who lived alone.



More info on link:
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2614473

 

[57Chevy]

I see no reference as to him being a Cpl.
Only as a Canadian Soldier named XXXX  XXXX living alone.

 

[armyvern]

I see no reference as to him being a Cpl.
Only as a Canadian Soldier named Patrick Painter living alone.

Nor has there been any mention of the Regiment provided in open source by an Official Source within the CF to the MSM; the publication of neighbour's comments giving names is not on.

The soldier has family too. I hope that no family ever has to learn of possible tragedies via comments from neighbours that were (and as far as I am aware) were/still not confirmed to the MSM by any official CF source.

 

[Occam]

the publication of neighbour's comments giving names is not on.

It's done frequently, though.  Media outlets typically have access to land registry databases specifically for the ability to say "The individual involved has not been named, however Joe Smith is the registered owner of the property".

 

[armyvern]

It's done frequently, though.  Media outlets typically have access to land registry databases specifically for the ability to say "The individual involved has not been named, however Joe Smith is the registered owner of the property".

THAT does not make it all right it. These people have families who deserve to learn of possible tragedies in a dignified and private manner, NOT via the MSM publishing some neighbours comments.

Same goes for any publication of "John Q Public owned the automobile that went off the cliff" scenarios as far as I'm concerned.

As for possible Regiment/Rank etc ... NOT on. That is the family's (or the CFs) move to do AFTER NOK has been notified of the ongoing situation.

 

[Occam]

I'm with you, but I'm afraid you're in for some resistance from the media, and expecting them to display a high level of morality is wishful thinking, unfortunately.

 

[Michael OLeary]

That doesn't mean that this site shouldn't try to maintain the higher standard, maybe it will rub off on some of the news agencies that check threads here regularly.

 

[211RadOp]

I don't know who changed the title in the thread, but when I posted it this morning, I used the headline from the news article.  Whoever changed it, that was not on.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I'm not sure who changed it but I think it reflects the story more as my first thought upon seeing the old title was that this was an 'Afghanistan' story...............

PS
We merge and change titles all the time here so we can keep things as uncluttered as possible for such a huge website.

Bruce

 

[57Chevy]

I see no reference as to him being a Cpl.
Only as a Canadian Soldier named XXXX  XXXX living alone.

Whoever XX'd over the name.......thanks
And that's the way it should be with the media.....hint hint 

 

[mariomike]

"Body found in rubble":
http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2615831

 

[vonGarvin]

Oh, crap! 

 

[OldSolduer]

Oh, crap! 

I'll concur with you on that one TV.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

From The Whig from a hour ago. Still nothing official from the military about  potential victims or which unit he belonged. Probably waiting until actual confirmation of who the victim is.


Article Link

Police discover signs 'of a body'
Posted By ROB TRIPP, THE WHIG-STANDARD
Posted 1 hour ago

Police say "evidence of a body" was found Wednesday as investigators dug through the charred remnants of house in Napanee that was destroyed in an explosion and fire.

An Ontario Provincial Police identification unit was brought to the property at 226 Queen St., in the east end of the town.

The owner of the house is still unaccounted for. Authorities have not named him, but said he is a member of the Canadian Forces.

Neighbours have identified the man as Patrick Painter, who lived alone in the two-storey house in a quiet neighbourhood.

Police say sifting the debris is slow.

"It's going to be a very long process," said Const. Christine Quenneville, of Napanee OPP.

Just before 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Painter's house was rocked by an explosion that rattled neighbouring buildings and set the house and two other homes on fire.

One adjacent house also was destroyed.

Painter's home was quickly consumed by the ferocious fire and the debris collapsed into the basement, leaving investigators with the difficult job of sifting a pit of blackened debris.

"They're taking off layers out of the debris, very carefully," Quenneville said.

The investigators, from the Ontario Fire Marshal's office, the Napanee fire department and the OPP, were using an excavator.

Military officials will not confirm where Painter was stationed.

"He is a CF member," said Lt. Sylvain Rousseau, a spokesman at Canadian Forces Base Kingston.

"Right now, he was attached ... to another unit."

Rousseau would not say what unit that is. Neighbours said they believed Painter was preparing to deploy soon to Afghanistan, though they did not know what he did in the military.

Rousseau said Painter has not reported to work, though he could not say if he was due to report in. He would not reveal his rank.

"The investigation is led by the police, so we don't want to give out too much information to influence or interfere with the investigation," Rousseau said.

He said he there was little else he could say.

"There are 34 units here and everybody has a different chain of command," he noted.

Neighbours in the Napanee neighbourhood said they thought Painter was currently on vacation.

It's believed that Painter does not have any family in the immediate area but has relatives on the east coast.

Witnesses have described the explosion Tuesday as a loud boom that rattled houses a block away.

Neighbour Bill Hrynick, who lives in a two-storey brick house immediately east of Painter's house, said he ran outside when he heard the blast and saw smoke pouring from a basement window that appeared to be bulging out.

Hrynick said the house quickly erupted in a ball of flames.

He surmised that the event was gas related.

Investigators have said they suspect the incident was "fuel-related," but they have not identified what kind of fuel they suspect.

Homes in the area are served by natural gas.

[email protected]

(My Emphasis.)

 

[armyvern]

Probably waiting until actual confirmation of who he victim is.

Exactly.

 

[mariomike]

"Soldier's body found after Ontario house explosion":
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/06/11/14349066.html

 

[211RadOp]

 

[The Bread Guy]

Condolences to his family, colleagues and friends.... 

 

[OldSolduer]

Our condolences to the family and friends of Cpl Painter.