Mike Spittall

1971 - 2019  (48 years)

• Name	Mike Spittall
  Born	1971
  Gender	Male
  Misfortune	2019	Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada
  	accidently burnt to death
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-30691
  Died	6 Feb 2019	Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I30691	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

• Notes

  Fabric sent for testing to explain cause of fatal explosion in Cambridge Investigators still inspecting evidence on explosion that killed 47-year-old Cambridge man by Lisa Rutledge Cambridge Times Ontario Fire Marshal Office investigators are still working to determine the cause of an explosion and ensuing fire that claimed the life of Cambridge resident Mike Spittal on Feb. 6. The 47-year-old husband and father was in his detached garage at his Selkirk Street home when an explosion erupted, causing the structure to become engulfed in flames. Spittal, who was discovered stumbling down his driveway by neighbours, was rushed to a Hamilton-area hospital where he later died from his injuries. Fire investigator Ryan Lock said his team is still piecing together clues to explain what caused the explosion, and isn't offering any speculations. "It's still ongoing right now," said Lock. "I'm still waiting for items I sent off to the lab to come back, and until that happens I won't have any kind of conclusive updates." Lock said he sent fire debris items, including two pieces of fabric, to the Centre for Forensic Science to be analyzed, but noted it could be another month before any test results come back. The wait follows a painstaking process to determine the cause of the explosion at the west Galt home. Firefighters and investigators had to wait for an excavator to arrive on scene to carefully remove the roof of the garage, as the explosion and fire made the structure too dangerous for investigators to enter. Once the roof was dismantled, the team of investigators began sifting through contents of the structure to collect evidence. Neighbours who described the incident said a "huge blast" shook their home at about 6:10 p.m. A resident told the Times in an email he thought something struck his house. "I put my jacket and boots on and ran outside just in time to see flames begin to erupt from my neighbour's garage and to see my neighbour walk up his driveway to the front of his house," he explained. "His clothing was covered in small pockets of flames." A neighbour, who is a nurse, ran to his aid, directing him lie down in the snow to smother flames. Within minutes, the detached garage was engulfed in flames and several smaller explosion bursts could be heard. Those who knew Spittal say the dedicated father, husband and son stopped at nothing to help those in need during his lifetime, and they are now asking for the community's help to support his family in the wake of his death. A GoFundMe online fundraising account in a bid to help support his wife, Tracy, and their two children. Cousin Theresa Smith told the Times Spittal and his family had recently been struck by continuous heartbreak. She said his father had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and his wife is battling breast cancer. Within hours of launching the GoFundMe account, the campaign had reached 75 per cent of its $20,000 goal, accumulating nearly $15,000 before midnight. More than $46,000 has been raised so far. The fundraising account's message described the love affair Spittal shared with his wife. "He and his sweetheart Tracy met in high school and never looked back," it reads. "It's the love story we all dream of." Rutledge, L. (2019). Fabric sent for testing to explain cause of fatal explosion in Cambridge. KitchenerPost.ca. Retrieved 9 March 2019, from https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/9212755-fabric-sent-for-testing-to-explain-cause-of-fatal-explosion-in-cambridge/

  
  

• Event Map

  Misfortune - accidently burnt to death - 2019 - Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada Died - 6 Feb 2019 - Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth