Advertisement 1

Baby girl dies of injuries suffered in firepit mishap: Family

Article content

A baby girl badly burned in a backyard firepit mishap that also injured her parents and two of her siblings has died, a relative tells The London Free Press.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

Jake Hiebert, 33, wife Tina, 28, and three of the couple’s five children

were injured while having a cookout at Jake’s parents’ house Monday night

Article content

in the Lake Erie shoreline community of Port Burwell, southeast of London.

The children, ages one, four and seven, suffered life-threatening injuries, while the parents were seriously injured, police said.

The one-year-old, Layla, died in hospital Thursday morning, a relative said. An online fundraiser for the family also was updated with details of the baby’s death.

EXPERT: Safety tips in wake of Port Burwell firepit mishap

“She has gone to be with Jesus. The family is heartbroken. They are asking for prayers of healing for all of them,” a post on the fundraising page read.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

The OPP and the Ontario Fire Marshal are investigating the cause of the mishap at a Vienna Line home, where the Hieberts were staying while their new house was being built.

The family was having a cookout in the backyard shortly before 7 p.m. Monday and fuel was added to the fire, said the relative, though exact details remain unclear. The relative asked not to be identified, citing respect for the family’s privacy.

All of the other injured family members remain in hospitals in London and Toronto.

The parents have five children in total. Two of them, a nine-year-old boy and six-year-old girl, were unharmed and are being cared for by family members, the online fundraising page notes.

The online fundraiser for the family had collected nearly $40,000 as of early Thursday.

dcarruthers@postmedia.com

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers