December 25, 2006
A 43-year-old Windsor man badly burned in an apartment fire earlier this month died of his injuries on Christmas Eve. Mark Blonde passed away around 8 p.m. on Dec. 24 due to complications as a result of third-degree burns to an estimated 70 per cent of his body.
Around 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 19, firefighters pulled Blonde out of a blaze in a second-floor unit in the four-storey apartment building at 1616 Ouellette Ave.
Blonde was transferred to Detroit Receiving Hospital later that night.
Windsor fire inspectors, police arson investigators and the Ontario Fire Marshal's office studied the gutted apartment. The cause of the fire is believed to have been careless smoking.
Joseph Gregory Blonde, the victim's 72-year-old father, said his youngest son never regained consciousness after the fire and was heavily sedated during his last days.
Written by The Windsor Star
