WATCH ABOVE: Emergency crews pulled him along with three of his siblings and his mother from the burning house this morning. The mother and one child are still in hospital fighting for their lives. Cindy Pom reports.
TORONTO – A 10-year-old boy has died after a woman and her four children were pulled from a townhouse fire in Toronto’s east end Saturday morning.
The home was reportedly engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived just before six o’clock.
Smoke was still billowing out of the home’s smashed windows as emergency crews rescued the family.
The boy’s mother and a sister remain in serious condition. Another young daughter, son and the father are doing ok.
“It’s terrible,” said Fire Division Commander Danny MacIsaac. “It’ll be very hard for the fire fighters and it will be hard for the community around here.”
He said the blaze appeared to have started in the kitchen, but as of early Saturday the cause had not yet been determined.
It’s not believed to be suspicious and the status of the smoke alarms in the three-story structure is under investigation.
Greg Spearn, president and CEO of Toronto Community Housing, said fire alarms in the building are up to code. At the scene of the fire Saturday he told Global News the alarms are not battery powered, but wired into a system and had just passed inspection in December.
Fire officials said all the family members, other than the father, were rescued from three bedrooms in the townhouse.
Fire Marshal Jeff Tebby said the father was able to get himself out of the home safely, and was then unable to re-enter the structure to try and save his family.
The fire did not spread to any adjacent homes.
Tebby stressed the importance of having a solid escape plan in place in case of emergency.
— With files from Canadian Press
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