Five members of a young South Asian family died in a tragic house fire in Brampton, Ontario. The two parents and three children killed in the fire have been identified by friends and family as Nazir Ali, 28, and Raven Ali-O’dea, 29. The couple’s deceased children have been identified as Layla Ali-O’dea, Jayden Ali-O’dea, and Alia Ali-O’dea. They were aged seven, eight and 10.
BRAMPTON – Five members of a young South Asian family died in a tragic house fire in Brampton, Ontario.
The two parents and three children killed in the fire have been identified by friends and family as Nazir Ali, 28, and Raven Ali-O’dea, 29. The couple’s deceased children have been identified as Layla Ali-O’dea, Jayden Ali-O’dea, and Alia Ali-O’dea. They were aged seven, eight and 10.
Peel Regional Police said emergency crews were called to a home on Conestoga Drive, near Sutter Avenue, in the Kennedy Road and Sandalwood Parkway East area, just before 2 a.m. for reports of a fire, reported CTV News Toronto.
Crews were able to pull four people from the house, but all were later pronounced dead. A fifth victim was located deceased inside the home during a search.
Rescuers found a sixth adult victim outside the home who got out on their own and was rushed to Sunnybrook Hospital for treatment of critical injuries.
“This is unbelievable,” Ali-O’dea’s father, Louie Felipa, told reporters at the scene Monday. “This pain I’m going to carry for the rest of my life. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
The children’s father, Nazir Ali, and mother, Raven Ali-O’Dea, were killed in the fire along with their children Alia, Jayden, and Layla. (Supplied)
He suggested the family did not have working smoke alarms in the home.
“My aim today is to make sure people know how important it is to have a smoke alarm,” he said. “This pain, I don’t want anyone to go through it.”
The fire in the home raged for several hours, and the Fire Marshal was called in to investigate what caused the blaze.
The City of Brampton said it would lower flags at all municipal facilities to half-mast today to mourn the loss.
Premier Doug Ford expressed sadness at the “tragic deaths.”
“I just can’t imagine the hurt being felt by the family, the friends and the community. You’ll all be in our prayers,” he said during an unrelated announcement in Brampton on Monday
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was with Ford, said his thoughts were with the family and friends of those who died.
“We’re all thinking of those affected by this horrible, heartbreaking tragic fire,” he said.