The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating after a boy was killed and four other family members were seriously injured in an early morning blaze at a Scarborough townhouse.

Neighbours have identified the young boy as 10-year-old Mark Mrochuk.

“The investigation is ongoing. We will be here today and through tomorrow,” Jeff Tebby of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office told reporters at the scene.

Firefighters were called to the Toronto Community Housing complex on Kingston Road near Galloway Road around 5:50 a.m. and arrived to find the building engulfed in flames.

“There was heavy smoke and flames coming from the townhouse building,” Commander Danny MacIsaac of Toronto Fire Services said.

Firefighters quickly knocked down the blaze and found the woman and her children inside the home, MacIsaac said.

Four children and their mother were pulled from the home and rushed to hospital in critical condition.

The woman and two of the kids were found without vital signs, but were revived in an ambulance en route to hospital, Operations Commander Peter Rotolo of Toronto Paramedic Services said.

At least one patient was transported to a trauma centre via emergency run, Toronto police said.

A spokesperson with Toronto Fire Services confirmed around 9 a.m. that one of the children had died of injuries sustained in the fire.

They said the mother and one daughter remain in serious condition, while the father, one son and one daughter suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Speaking with CP24 at the scene, neighbour Donna Sancho said the father frantically banged on her door looking for help. She said area residents watched in horror as firefighters tried to rescue the family.

“We saw them take the little boy out and he wasn’t even moving,” she said through tears. “They put him on the floor and did CPR and then we saw them take the rest of the family out the house.

“The father was really distraught so they had to literally handcuff him to stop him from going back into the house.”

Another neighbour, Erin Reynolds, told CP24 that she was alerted to the fire when she woke up and smelled smoke.

"I looked out the window and just saw flames coming out of the window. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen," she said. 

Reynolds described the family as "tight knit" and "well-known" in the community.

"Mark, he was always such a loving brother. Always helped the family. You always saw him carrying his little brother’s bags and everything home from school. It was really a sad loss," she said. 

"They have got the whole community praying for them." 

Cause of fire not yet clear

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but it appears to have started in the home’s second-floor kitchen, where there is extensive damage, MacIsaac said.

“We’ll be trying to assist the fire marshal in determining what the cause was,” he said.

Speaking with reporters, Tebby said the fire is not considered suspicious, but he added it’s too early to say with certainty what caused the blaze.

“There were extreme smoke conditions within the structure. I’m not able to comment beyond that,” Tebby said.

In a news release, TCH said the home had recently been inspected. The statement said TCH is assisting the OFM in its investigation.

“Initial information is that the smoke detectors in the affected home were working this morning,” the organization said in its release. “All life safety systems at Toronto Community Housing homes are inspected regularly, and the system in this home was fully functional at the last inspection in December, 2014.”

The fire did not spread to any other homes.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, TCH CEO Greg Spearn called the situation “awful.”

“It’s such a horrible situation for the family. Our heart goes out to this family. This is the last thing we want to see,” Spearn said.

He said the smoke detectors in the unit were electrically wired rather than battery-powered.

MacIsaac said firefighters believe the fire started while the family was asleep.

While the circumstances are still under investigation, Tebby said the incident stresses the importance of having a plan to get out of the home early in case of emergency.

“It’s very concerning when we have fatalities like this. The message we keep trying to get out, is early detection. Have an escape plan,” he said.

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