Abdul Wahid Whahedi says the last 11 days have been a blur for his family, after losing his sister and her two sons in a fatal fire at their Toronto Community Housing apartment on Dec. 4.
The fire happened at the apartment on Flemington Road, near Allen Road and Lawrence Avenue West, after 9:30 p.m. When firefighters arrived, they found a working fire inside one of the units and the three family members were found without vital signs.
Toronto paramedics rushed Fakhria Whahedi, 18-year-old Ahmad-Shaher Hamid and 16-year-old Ahmad-Shaber Hamid to area hospitals in life-threatening condition.
READ MORE: Mother of son killed in north-end Toronto Community Housing apartment fire dies
Ahmad-Shaher died shortly after being taken to hospital, Fakhria died on Dec. 7 and Ahmad-Shaber died last Wednesday.
Abdul Wahid said when he heard about the fire, he rushed to the scene and found his brother-in-law outside of the building.
“He was at the scene already and we hugged each other,” he said. “We didn’t know how to explain – tons of questions just in our minds.
“I cannot imagine this was happening to my family or to any other family in the community. This was an unbelievable, unimaginable circumstance that I was faced with.”
READ MORE: 1 dead, 2 in critical condition in north-end Toronto Community Housing apartment fire
Abdul Wahid said although it has been a “hectic” time for the family, that they all have come together and become “very strong.”
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“We try to stay as positive as we can, while we go through such a tough time.”
Abdul Wahid’s son Samander Whahedi said he was just sitting in his room doing work when his mom came in and broke the news about the fire and his aunt and cousins.
“It’s all unreal, it’s kind of like a dream. You just don’t expect it to happen, but when it does.”
A funeral for all three family members will be held Saturday.
READ MORE: Third family member dies after Toronto Community Housing apartment fire
A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign has been set up to help support the family to cover costs for the service. As of Saturday, almost $11,000 was raised.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Office of the Fire Marshal and Toronto Fire Services.
—With files from Catherine McDonald and Nick Westoll
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