ORLEANS, Mass. — Investigators on Wednesday announced the cause of a house fire on Cape Cod that claimed the life of a young boy over the weekend.
Kyi Odeen Bourne, a 6-year-old student at Harwich Elementary School, died from injuries he suffered when his family’s home at 177 Route 6A in Orleans went up in flames on Saturday night.
The fire was unintentional and most likely caused by the failure of an electric fan that had been in use on the second floor before the blaze broke out, Orleans Fire Chief George E. Deering IV, Orleans Police Chief Scott MacDonald, State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey, and Cape & Islands District Attorney Robert J. Galibois said in a joint news release.
“On behalf of the Orleans Fire Department, I want to express our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones,” Deering said. “There are no words to describe their loss, or the loss to our community. I can only ask that every family take a few minutes today to create a home escape plan that includes two ways out. Practice it regularly so that everyone in your household knows what to do and where to go when there’s an emergency.”
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Firefighters responding to a report of a blaze at the two-and-a-half-story home shortly before 9 p.m. were greeted by smoke and fire coming from the second floor of the home. Upon arrival, they learned Kyi was unaccounted for.
Kyi, who was found in the rubble suffering from serious injuries, was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Everyone else was able to get out of the home after the fire started.
Shantal Thomas, Kyi’s mother, described her son as the love of her life.
“Kyi has a heart of gold. Kyi loved, loved everybody. Kyi would walk into a room and light up the world,” Thomas said. “He was also autistic, but you couldn’t tell.”
A GoFundMe was launched to help the young boy’s family with funeral expenses and the costs associated with rebuilding their entire household.
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