MONTREAL — An eight year old boy is now the only surviving member of the family, after his two-year-old brother died on Wednesday night in hospital.
Just two days before Christmas, a tragic apartment fire in Quebec has left a family decimated.
Quebec provincial police have confirmed that a 37-year-old man, Patrick Gagnon, a 32-year-old woman, Karine Desrochers Gauthier, a two-year-old boy and a four-year old girl have died in a fire in Les Coteaux, Que., while an eight-year-old boy remains in critical condition in a Montreal hospital.
The fire occurred in an apartment that was part of a six-unit building. Firefighters evacuated the other residents from the building.
Neighbour Nicole Menard told Global News that she knew family, describing the situation as a “nightmare” as nearly everyone in burned building are related.
“It’s going to be very tough, because they’re all related,” she said. “In those apartments, you had the great-grandmother, the grandmother, the daughter.” When asked about the tragedy she simply said “there are no words for that” and walked away.
The Sûreté du Québec are investigating the blaze, which broke out in an apartment building on Des Bouleaux Street in Les Coteaux, a municipality just west of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, near the Ontario border.
According to authorities, the fire began on the third floor of the building at around 2:30 a.m.
Firefighters managed to contain the blaze and put out the fire, but not before three children and two adults were transported to hospital.
One neighbour, Kathy Juillet, said that her six-year-old daughter played with the couple’s eldest son, and said that explaining the fire to the girl was extremely difficult.
“He won’t have a family anymore.”
According to reports, the Lac St-François regional fire chief Michel Pitre said the fire may have started in the living room of the family’s apartment, and there may not have been a working smoke detector.
Neighbour Nicole Menard told Global News that she knew family, describing the situation as a “nightmare” as nearly everyone in burned building are related.
After first asking Karine via Facebook if she was alright, a friend posted a moving message.
“I’m heart broken,” the post read. “R.I.P karine, Pat and Loris. Please God watch over baby Felix and prayers that he makes it and Mathis is in stable condition.”
Another neighbour, Kathy Juillet said that she had to explain what happened to her six-year-old daughter, who played with the eldest child in the Les Coteaux home.
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