Investigation continues into deadly Port Colborne, Ont. house fire

Fire crews in Port Colborne, Ontario will try to sift through the charred remains of a home where four members of a family died on Wednesday.

The Port Colborne fire department said they arrived at a two-storey home located on Nickel Street east of Fares Street in the Lake Erie community south of Welland, at around 1:20 a.m.

Niagara Regional Police confirm an 83-year-old great-grandmother was found in the home and pronounced dead at the scene.

Three others, a 37-year-old mother, her two-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter, who initially were unaccounted for, have been confirmed dead, the fire chief said.

Family friends identified the victims to Global News as Tammy Burd, her son Josh, daughter Sam and their great-grandmother Eva.

It is also believed two other family members, one of them believed to be the children’s father, escaped the fire unharmed.

Officials said they entered the home and located the elderly victim but could not go any further due to the intensity of the flames.

There’s no word yet on the cause of the fire but fire officials said crews did not hear any smoke alarms.

VIDEO: Family friend remembers family of 4 killed in Port Colborne ,Ont. fire

1:53 Family friend remembers family of 4 killed in Port Colborne ,Ont. fire

-With a file from The Canadian Press