Crews continued to excavate the rubble of a Brampton, Ont., home on Monday after police said all three people who were unaccounted for after a deadly fire last week have been located — two of them dead and the third safe.
Peel Regional Police and Ontario's fire marshal's office gave an update on the ongoing investigation into the Thursday morning blaze that destroyed a home and prompted the evacuation of several others nearby.
Police had said on Friday that remains believed to be those of an adult had been found in the wreckage.
On Monday, Const. Tyler Bell said that investigators found the remains of a second person over the weekend, while the third person was in fact not home during the fire and was now safe at the hospital with his family.
"We're very fortunate that the third outstanding member is safe," Bell said. "At the time of the fire, he was away for work and had to return in transit, and there was a delay in verifying his whereabouts."
Bell said in total, four people died at the scene: three women and a toddler. One of the people taken to hospital was pregnant and went into emergency surgery to deliver the baby, but the baby has since died, he said.
The constable said the four people in hospital have stabilized, though some remain in critical condition. One of them, a five-year-old boy, is "doing quite well," Bell said.
Investigators have not speculated on the cause of the fire, but Bell said Monday that they have not found anything that would indicate criminal activity.
Mayor Patrick Brown alleged last week the home was owned by an "absentee landlord" who had a history of compliance issues with the basement unit.
Bell did not provide details on the home's occupancy and said the main priority for investigators at the moment is managing victims and witnesses.
"I understand that there will be a lot of questions as it pertains to the occupancy of the residence, how that residence was divided," said Bell. "That's not something that any of us here are prepared to speak to, as it will come out in the ongoing investigation."
Little of the structure remained on Monday as crews used cranes and excavators to lift debris from the area. A parkette in front of the scene remained closed, with heavy machinery blocking parts of the street and police tape cordoning off nearby houses.
Neharika Sethbhalla, who lives in the neighbourhood, said she was "really upset" to learn about the fire and see the damage. While she hadn't seen the fire as it happened overnight, she was woken up by the sound of sirens as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
"It's really sad. Should not happen, really unfortunate," she said.
She has kids in her family who go to the school just across the street, she said, and they've been walking by the scene during school pickup.
"Whenever we cross the street, whenever we come to pick up the kids and everything, it's difficult to explain to them what happened," she said.
Fire Marshal Jon Pegg said smoke detectors were in the home, and investigators will seek to determine whether the devices were working at the time of the fire.
"This event is a stark reminder of the devastation that fire can cause," Pegg said, urging Ontarians to test their smoke alarms and practise their fire escape plan.
