4-year-old-boy, woman dead in Weston Rd. fire

A four-year-old boy and a woman died Tuesday night – and two others suffered life-threatening injuries – after a three-alarm blaze ravaged an apartment unit in Toronto’s west end.

Fire officials were probing the cause of the devastating blaze, which broke out around 6 p.m. local time on the ninth floor of a highrise building.

The flames were contained to one unit, but smoke billowed over into adjacent floors.

The four victims, who all suffered smoke inhalation, were in the back bedroom of the ninth-floor apartment when flames broke out in the front room, said Toronto Fire Chief William Stewart.

Toronto police confirmed both the boy and one of the women had died, and said the situation was critical for the other two women, who were fighting for their lives at the Humber River Regional Hospital.

Resident Lul Hassan, 60, recalled a scene of panic and confusion as the alarms went off and smoke began billowing from one of the floors below her unit.

"I heard the alarm and saw the fire trucks, and we saw smoke and more smoke coming out," Hassan said, noting she was especially concerned for the safety of her month-old grandchild, who lives in the unit with her. "My daughter had her little baby. I was very worried."

Resident Jalil Ahmad, 55, said he was on the ninth floor when the fire flared up and he saw a man pull the fire alarm.

"I was right there. I heard people running, opening the doors," Ahmad said. "I saw smoke coming . . . lots of smoke."

Stephan Powell, Toronto’s district fire chief, said a team was on site, working to help shelter people who had been displaced.

All four victims were found without vital signs after a search-and-rescue operation by fire officials, Stewart said. Emergency medical officials said two of the women were in their mid-20s and mid-30s, but could not confirm an age for the third.

Stewart said the circumstances of the blaze were unusual, with all four victims seemingly trapped inside a bedroom at dinner hour, but added that such a tragedy "should not happen . . . at any time."