No working smoke alarms in Oshawa house where fire killed 4: investigator

OSHAWA, Ont. – A fire investigator says there were no working smoke alarms in an Oshawa, Ont., home where four people died in a fire earlier this week.

Rick Derstroff of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office says the deaths in Monday’s fire were a “preventable tragedy.”

Derstroff says there were brackets and wiring in place but no smoke alarms in the building.

READ MORE: Online tributes growing for victims, including 2 children, of fatal Oshawa fire

A mother and her two young children and an unrelated man who ran into the burning home to help those inside have been identified in a series of online tributes as the victims of the fire.

The Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association identified three of the victims as Lindsey Bonchek and her two children, Madeline and Jackson. It described the trio as relatives of an association member.

The daughter and the niece of the fourth person killed in the fire both issued emotional Facebook posts naming him as Steven MacDonald.