Thirteen-year-old Miguel Tyndale stood a distance from his friend Britney Einboden’s charred home yesterday, peering beyond a row of police tape and through the open front door, into the living room where he often visited his former schoolmate.
With his hands stuffed into the pockets of a black sweater, its hood pulled up over his head, he walked home, just four doors along their tiny, rounded cul-de-sac. A younger boy trailed behind him on a bicycle.
"I can see one behind the couch," he told his grandmother when they arrived. "There were pictures of Britney on the wall, all the way from Grade 1. Some dropped behind the couch; I can see one of the frames. I want a picture of her."
Britney had been pulled from her family’s burning home the previous afternoon and rushed to hospital. Her father, Ken, was found collapsed next to her and pronounced dead at the scene. Britney died in hospital yesterday. She was 12 years old.
"She was a great kid, she worked hard at school," family friend Richard Leftley told reporters outside Sick Kids Hospital yesterday afternoon. "Yesterday, I lost my best friend in Ken. Today, my daughters lost their best friend."
Ken Einboden, 35, was in his home on Kemp Square, near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue West, with his daughters on Sunday afternoon when a blaze sent thick black smoke pouring from the windows. He pulled his infant daughter Kendra from the blaze, before running back inside to retrieve Britney from the second floor, a neighbour said. His wife was not at home at the time.
"He gave his last breath saving his daughters," said Mr. Leftley.
It is believed the fire started in the home’s kitchen, but this has not been confirmed. The Ontario Fire Marshal and police are investigating.
Mr. Leftley said the family had fallen on hard times before Sunday’s deadly fire. Mr. Einboden, a machinist by trade, had been out of work for seven months and his wife, Jackie, was on maternity leave.
"The baby is only five-and-a-half months old and the mother is on maternity leave now. They rented the place and they had no renters insurance, so the clothes that is on their back right now is all they have left to their names," Mr. Leftley said.
He added the family doesn’t have money to bury the two, and Ms. Einboden doesn’t have diapers or formula for her baby.
The nurses at Sick Kids stayed by Britney’s side for hours before her death, said Mr. Leftley. They combed and braided her hair. Her vice-principal came with flowers from her classmates at Amesbury School.
Yesterday morning, friends and neighbours were mourning Mr. Einboden’s loss, while still praying Britney might hold on.
"He’s the nicest guy. The little park there, he cuts the grass. He cleans up the park because he knows the children love playing there," said Miguel’s grandmother, Mae Malabre. "He’s that kind of person."
Miguel said Britney was shy but funny and loved to laugh. She came up with the best games to play, such as tobogganing and seeing how many times they could hop on their scooters.
"She always won that one. But I cheated and added a jump or two. Don’t tell her that, though," he said.
National Post
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