Four people are now confirmed dead from a Brampton house fire after more remains were discovered inside the charred wreckage over the weekend, Peel Regional Police confirmed on Monday morning.
“I can confirm that four people lost their lives on scene here and it’s three adult females and a young toddler,” Const. Tyler Bell said during an update from the scene on Banas Way in the McLaughlin and Remembrance roads area.
Four others remains in hospital.
“Sadly, one of the patients at hospital was pregnant, she underwent surgery, delivered that baby and that baby has since passed,” Bell grimly added.
Three people associated with the home were originally deemed unaccounted for after the fire early last Thursday morning.
One of them was found deceased on Friday, with the second found over the weekend.
The third person, a man, was not in the house at the time and police confirm he is safe.
Bell said there was a “a delay in verifying his whereabouts” which initially led to him being considered missing inside the burned home.
It turned out he was out of town on business.
In total, 11 people were associated with the residence. Bell earlier said most of them were part of a multi-generational family who called the address home.
Of the four still in hospital, including a five-year-old boy, Bell said their conditions are considered stable and boy is “doing well.”
Bell said that while the investigation into the cause of the deadly blaze would be lengthy, so far there is “nothing to indicate criminality.”
Emergency crews were called to the home on Banas Way just before 2:45 a.m. on November 20. Video shared with CityNews showed the semi-detached house engulfed in flames as fire crews arrived on scene.
Home was not licensed for multiple tenants: Mayor Brown
In an update last week, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown called the home’s owner an “absentee landlord” who didn’t follow up with city-mandated inspections and wasn’t licensed to have that many people living under one roof.
“In recent years, the homeowner who is an absentee landlord (and) is out of the country for an extended period, submitted a building permit application to create a second dwelling unit in the basement,” he explained on Thursday.
Brown said the City ordered work to be completed, but alleges the owner failed to follow up on the required inspections.
“It resulted in an order to comply being issued on the property,” Brown said. “The city followed established processes and took additional measures to follow up on required work.”
“I would note this is not licensed to have multiple tenants,” he added. “All those details will come out as the investigation occurs.”
Speaking generally, Brown called the issue of landlords skirting local bylaws “infuriating.”
“We’ve had units that there’s 25 individuals living in it, and I’ve said, ‘I don’t want to get a call from the fire chief about another tragedy.’”
“I hope we don’t have to hear about another tragedy like this.”
