Officials investigate after fire rips through Brampton townhome

Officials are investigating after a fire ripped through a townhome in Brampton early Sunday morning.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, City of Brampton fire Chief Bill Boyes said crews responded to reports of a house fire shortly after 3 a.m. at 39 Ellis Dr.

He said they dispatched a second alarm.

“Firefighters were confronted with a fire on the third floor, made entry and quickly extinguished the fire at 39,” Boyes said.

The home was unoccupied at the time of the fire, he said.

According to Boyes, the home sits adjacent to another townhouse where a devastating fire claimed the lives of three young boys on Thursday.

Boyes said the office of the Ontario fire marshal is on scene and is looking into the origin, cause and circumstance of Sunday’s fire.

“They also were investigating the first fire on Thursday, as well,” Boyes said. “So right now we don’t have an indication of what the cause is, we do on the initial indications believe them to be separate and distinct events.”

Boyes said there were no injuries to the firefighters who responded to the incident.

He said the last few days have been stressful for the residents of the community.

“There’s been two fires in three days,” he said. “We understand that it’s been a traumatic time for them.”

Boyes said Brampton fire personnel will remain in the neighbourhood and throughout the community.

He said they will be “doing fire safety blitzes” in the coming days to “educate people on fire safety, and try to ensure that we don’t have any more fires or any more fatalities in the city of Brampton.”

Boyes urged the public to check their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to ensure they are in good working order, and to create a fire safety escape plan.