Three people still unaccounted for after deadly fire at Brampton, Ont. home: police

Three people are still unaccounted for after a deadly fire at a Brampton home that killed two people and injured four others early Thursday morning, police say.

The two-alarm blaze broke out at a home on Banas Way, located near McLaughlin and Remembrance roads, at around 2 a.m.

Police said two adults were pronounced dead at the scene and four others, including a child, were transported to hospital in critical condition. The child is believed to be four or five years old.

While all four hospitalized victims are still listed in critical condition, police say that the child is “moving towards stable.”

Brampton Fire Chief Andy Glynn said in an update outside the home on Thursday morning that one of the deceased victims was found inside while another was found outside the residence.

“When crews arrived, it was a pretty significant fire,” he said. “We had fire through the roof on arrival and we’ve had structural collapse inside the building.”

Adjacent homes were also damaged during the fire, but officials say all occupants of those residences were able to evacuate safely.

Police say nine members of a multi-generational family lived inside the home, including the three individuals that are still unaccounted for. Another two individuals lived in a basement apartment within the building, police say.

The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal has been called to the scene and will work alongside an excavation company to “slowly dismantle” the unit and “look for any other individuals that might be still inside,” Glynn said.

Police say that of the three people who are still unaccounted for, one is believed to be a child.

“We have potentially three people unaccounted for that may be in the residence, we just don’t know yet,” Acting Sgt. Tyler Bell said. “There is some significant collapse that happened as a result of the fire so the OFM alongside the (excavation) company that was mentioned are going to come and try to stabilize the structure as much as possible so crews can get in and do a thorough search.”

Officials were unable to provide any information on the ages of the other victims but said their injuries included burns and smoke inhalation.

“It is a sad day and thoughts and prayers to everybody,” Glynn said.

Speaking at the scene on Thursday afternoon, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said the four people who are in hospital jumped from the second floor of the burning home.

“Through their courage of leaving the building from the second floor that they are hopefully going to make it through this incredible tragedy and they’re certainly in our prayers,” the mayor said.

‘Absentee landlord’ has not been compliant, mayor claims

Brown claimed the homeowner is an “absentee landlord” who is currently out of the country for an extended period. The mayor said the homeowner recently submitted a building permit application to create a second dwelling unit in the basement.

“The building permit was issued for a required set of work to be completed, including the homeowner’s duty to request an inspection for completed work. A building inspector followed up,” the mayor said.

“Given the absence of required inspection requests, so there was a number of times where the city went to inspect the location, it resulted in an order to comply being issued on the property.”

Brown said it is still unknown whether there were failings to the Ontario Building Code or Ontario Fire Code. He noted the city has been attempting to gain compliance since 2019.

“But it speaks to why the city has had such a rigorous and aggressive clampdown on illegal units because it creates unfortunately preventable tragedies,” the mayor said.

“This obviously is going to be investigated but obviously as mayor when I hear that investigations were refused, the entry was refused, it gives me great concern that unfortunately this is going to end up being one of those circumstances that could have been avoided, and our city has a heavy heart today.”

When pressed why the city has not been able to prevent the landlord from renting the residence amid the six-year compliance battle, the director of Brampton’s bylaw enforcement said they do not “have the ability” to do so.

“We have a number of tools to get them into compliance and that’s what we were utilizing at the time,” Robert Higgs said.

Last year, the City of Brampton launched a pilot program to crack down on “slum landlords.”

“I would note this is not licensed to have multiple tenants, and so all those details will come out as the investigation occurs,” Brown said. “But I think this really speaks to the fact why it is so critical that if you’re having multiple renters that you adhere to building code and fire code, and I hope, I hope that we don’t have to hear about another tragedy like this.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted on social media about the fire, saying he was “devastated to hear about the terrible fire that took place in Brampton early this morning.”

“My thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted and my thanks go out to the brave first responders who attended the scene,” Ford said.

Due to the structural collapse, investigators cannot safely get inside. Officials said an excavator will be brought in on Friday to take down the two units.

“We don’t have any preconceived ideas from where the fire may have started. That will be all part of the investigation as the investigators work through the series of information, videos, everything that exists becomes part and parcel of the investigation,” Ontario Deputy Fire Marshal Carrie Clark said.

When asked if there are indications if the fire was deliberate, Clark said it’s too early in the investigation to determine that.