Mom, daughter killed — dad, older daughter injured — in Oshawa house fire
The woman’s husband, 56, was outside the home when Durham police officers arrived
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A deadly house fire in Oshawa shattered a family, tragically killing a mother and her young daughter Wednesday morning and injuring the husband and older daughter.
Durham Regional Police say their officers responded to the two-alarm fire at 70 McGrigor St. – near King St. W. and Centre St. S. – just after 8 a.m. and found the man outside. He informed them that his wife and two girls were still in the home.
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Police officers used extinguishers to battle the flames until firefighters arrived and seven officers were later treated for smoke inhalation.
“Our crews encountered heavy smoke and flames coming from the main floor and the second floor,” Deputy Chief Todd Wood, of Oshawa Fire Services, said. “And offensive (firefighting) operations stated immediately.
“In the midst of our primary search we located three victims on the upper floor,” said Wood. “One was removed down the stairs and out through the front door.
“And two were removed from the (upper) windows.”
Video obtained by CTV Toronto showed a firefighter on a ladder outside the second-storey front window cradling a person in their arms, believed to be one of the daughters, before placing their air mask over their face.
Wood said that a 46-year-old woman was later pronounced dead along with her nine-year-old daughter. A 12-year-old girl and 56-year-old man were also rescued from the house and are now in a hospital.
Fire investigator Jim Gillespie, of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office, said the home was severely damaged inside and that the probe into the cause and origin of the fire will look at whether smoke alarms were in working order.
“There is significant structural damage to the inside of the house,” said Gillespie. “The second floor has collapsed into the main floor. And the main floor has partially collapsed into the basement.
“There is some indication that one of the occupants was awoken by smoke alarms, but we haven’t confirmed whether they were working or not,” said Gillespie.
Nancy Strange, who lives a few doors away from the home that caught fire, was almost in tears while explaining what she saw as the fire and smoke filled her neighbourhood.
“I was just petrified,” said Strange. “I heard glass breaking and smoke from my upstairs window.
“My heart just dropped when they brought the child out. And its unfortunate because it is March Break. Because probably if it wasn’t March Break those kids wouldn’t be there.”
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She then clutched her chest and said tearfully, “my heart just goes out for the kids. I don’t know what else to say.
“It’s March Break kids should be out having fun.”
She said she just met the family during the latest blast of winter shovelling snow and said the husband was a “very friendly” guy who works at a nearby auto body shop.
“He was trying to figure out what colour of paint my car,” said Strange. “He told me he could help me out at his shop to paint my car.”
The family’s dog was found in the rear of the home and it had also died as a result of the blaze. An aerial truck hovered above the home for most of the morning as firefighters targeted hot spots and cut holes in the roof to vent out the smoke.
All the windows had been knocked out and blackened by the fire and firefighters. The porch area was heavily charred and looked like it was about to collapse.
David Payette, who lives right next door, recalled smelling smoke in his home and then saw police and fire trucks filling the street.
Payette said that after a woman he thought was the mother had been brought out, “there were four men holding her back and doing CPR on her.”
“And then I saw the little girl, but they also had her sister, in the arms of one of the firemen,” he added.
“And then they gave them to an ambulance (EMS) and they immediately took off.”
Wood expressed his condolences to the family and nearby community.
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