Two children confirmed dead in house fire in western Quebec

THURSO, QUEBEC – A three-year-old and an eight-year-old have been confirmed dead after a house fire in the Quebec town of Thurso.

Emergency responders answered a call that came in at about  4:47 a.m. ET to report that a two-storey stone home was ablaze. The house was fully engulfed in flames by the time fire crews arrived.

Neighbour Sylvain Leblanc told Global News he awoke to screams.

“I saw the father running and yelling. I saw the flames, so I asked my girlfriend to call 911 right away.”

Leblanc says he watched as the father attempted to go back into the house.

“The father tried to save the two last children by jumping on the roof of the balcony in front of the house and breaking the window.  But he came out two or three seconds later because it was so intense.”

The man later collapsed in the yard outside, said Leblanc.

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After battling the fire for more than three hours, firefighters could not save the building and the house was completely destroyed.

Quebec provincial police Sgt. Marc Tessier confirmed that three adults and three children were able to escape, but the bodies of two young children had been discovered in the upper levels of the home. He added that the upper floors needed to be stabilized before retrieving the bodies.

Six people were taken to hospital, with several being treated for major burns. Those included the father and 12-year-old daughter in critical condition, as well as the mother, six-year-old boy, small infant, and teen friend, who are in stable condition.

Watch a clip from the interview here:

Thurso is in the Outaouais region in western Quebec, about 45 kilometres east of Gatineau.

– With files from The Canadian Press