‘A good legacy’: 40 years after Frances Egan’s death, her impact is still felt across Ontario

It’s been 40 years since a Sarnia woman passed away in a house fire. CTV London’s Brent Lale reports on her lasting legacy regarding fire safety.

It has been 40 years, but Phil Egan remembers his little sister’s death like it was yesterday.

“It was certainly one of the worst days in our lives,” said Egan.

On Jan. 25, 1985, Frances Egan, 24, was killed when fire ripped through her Davis Street home in Sarnia, Ont.

She did not have a working smoke alarm, and faulty wiring was to blame for the fire.

Four decades later, her legacy lives on thanks to the tireless efforts of her father, and nine brothers and sisters.

“After it happened, our father (Joe Egan) asked her nine remaining brothers and sisters to become advocates for fire safety,” said Phil. “Over the past 40 years, we’ve tried to live up to what he asked us to do. And I think we’ve accomplished a lot in in Frances' name.”

Within 48 hours of her death, the family got to work.

A foundation was set up, and they raised money for smoke alarms.

“There were about 200 of us,” said Phil, of the team who started to help the community.

“Family members, electricians, and firefighters went all through the south end of the city, where there’s still a lot of wooden homes and gave away free smoke detectors. In some cases, if these were seniors, we actually went into their homes and installed them for them.”

The family’s impact can be felt not only in Sarnia, but across the province.

“After this tragic event where they lost Frances, they launched a campaign to get Sarnia City Council to pass a bylaw for mandatory smoke detectors, and that led right across the province,” said Mike Bradley, Sarnia’s mayor who was a councillor and family friend at the time of Frances’ death.

“In those days, it wasn’t even a consideration. The powerful impact of what they did after it was incredible, and it showed out of tragedy.”

Sarnia passed the by-law, but it wasn’t until 12 years later in 1997 that the province followed suit.

Joe Egan spent a lot of time educating about fire safety after his daughter’s death.

“Not long afterwards, my brother Larry brought the ‘Get Out Alive program’ from Ottawa down here to Sarnia,” said Phil. “Thousands of children have now been exposed to that program.”

That program educates children on what to do if a fire breaks out in their home. The fire department’s trailer has a plaque on the back in memory of Frances.

On the 40-year anniversary over the weekend, the family gathered for a memorial service at Our Lady of Mercy church in Sarnia, then went out together for a lunch. After the service, they visited Frances’ grave site and were surprised with a special tribute.

“Kevin McHarg, a retired Sarnia firefighter and a strong advocate for our cause, advised the procession of cars leaving the cemetery to drive past the Michigan Avenue fire hall,” said Mary-Jane Egan, Frances’ sister. “Outside, was a firetruck and honor guard of firefighters who saluted as our procession of vehicles passed by. It was a beautiful tribute that meant the world to our family.”

It was meaningful, as the family has cared for the firefighters since the tragedy.

“On some of the anniversary dates, we’ve actually gone into the East Street fire hall and prepared dinner for the crew on duty,” said Phil, who wrote a book about the history of Sarnia’s Fire Department in 2017. “We think firefighters don’t get enough credit for what they do. They save a lot of lives.”

The mayor was at the service Saturday.

“I reflected the other day that Frances has been gone longer than she lived,” said Bradley. “But out of that death came this initiative here by the Egans to get smoke detectors mandatory across the city and across this province, and it happened. That’s a good legacy.”