East Toronto native shares her journey of healing 5 years after losing son, mom, and 2 friends in house fire

Toronto native Arija Jansons is opening up about her journey of healing five years after losing her son, mom, and two friends in a house fire in the city's east end. (Supplied)

After five long and dark years, former east Toronto resident Arija Jansons is finally starting to find some joy and light in her life.

On Jan. 29, 2021, at around 4:30 a.m., a massive electrical fire broke out at Jansons’ family home on Gainsborough Rd., near Gerrard Street East and Coxwell Avenue.

Her seven-year-old son Kai Dombrovskis along with her mother, Jana Jansons, and two friends, Amanda Freimanis and Matthew Zdybal, died in the three-alarm blaze.

• READ MORE: Four people dead, several injured after 3-alarm house fire in Toronto’s east end

“My last memory of the fire is looking at Kai. I then woke up in the ICU,” said Jansons, who recently spoke about her experience publicly for the first time with CP24.

Jansons said she somehow made it out of her burning house, escaping from a second-floor window, but was badly injured and spent several days in hospital dealing with the effects of smoke inhalation.

“My eyes were sealed shut. I couldn’t see and I had a breathing tube. I lost my voice for almost a month and I didn’t know if I’d ever get it back,” she said.

The Office of the Fire Marshal has since determined there were no working smoke alarms in the house.

‘My world went black’

The psychological injuries Jansons sustained from that traumatic experience, however, and the deep losses she has had to endure because of it, are wounds that will never fully heal or go away.

“My world went black,” she said.

“The pain of Kai passing away is just so excruciating.”

In the days and months following the tragedy, Jansons said she existed in a state of deep shock. Feelings of aimlessness followed as she tried to process what had happened and find her footing.

“I was wandering around lost all the time. I was driving around aimlessly. I was just so lost,” shared Jansons, who in the days after the fire stayed at a friend’s house before getting her own place in the city, but with little support.

“It was a very isolating time. ... I should have been in safe hands. It was just too much for a human to bear.”

In late 2021, just a few months before the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, Jansons fell into deep depression.

“I’ve never known depression like that. It was very dark. I just gave up all hope,” she said, adding while life seemingly went on for everyone else, the life she knew was over.

There were times, she shared, that she didn’t know if she’d make it through.

“It just got harder every year. ... It was a terrifying time,” said Jansons.

“Friends and family are not equipped to help someone going through that level of trauma. Not everyone has the ability to help.”

Jansons said that notable gap in support has led her to come up with a plan to open a space for survivors of trauma called Kaison Healing Centre. This initiative is currently in the very early stages, she said.

Memoir in the works

As part of her ongoing healing journey, Jansons has also started penning a memoir in the hopes that sharing what she’s gone through will help others who have experienced trauma. She has launched a crowdfunding page to help fund this endeavour.

“It just started pouring out of me. I started typing and I couldn’t stop,” Jansons said of her memoir, which she began writing about a year ago.

Recently, with close friend Jennifer Jones, Jansons has also launched a children’s book-writing project aimed at helping kids deal with grief. The first book in the series is called Kai’s Kites and was released last fall.

A new chapter in B.C.

Jansons’ circumstances changed in a big way in the spring of 2022 when she met her partner and by the fall of that year, they’d packed up their belongings and relocated to British Columbia for a new start.

“Toronto was just too loaded with memories. It’ll always be home but B.C. is beautiful,” said Jansons, who in October 2024 gave birth to a happy, healthy baby girl.

“Rheya has given me hope and brought me back to life again. ... She definitely gives me a reason to still want to be here. My daughter has helped me find my laugh again and she brings light to my dark days.”

Jansons said she is still hit at times by heavy waves of grief, especially on quiet nights when her baby is asleep, but said time has helped lessen her pain. The time around the anniversary of the tragedy, which happened just days after Kai’s birthday, is always extra difficult, she shared.

“I could be depressed and miserable all my life but Kai wouldn’t want that,” said Jansons.

Grateful for support following fire

Jansons said she is grateful to everyone, especially those from Toronto’s east end, who offered their support in the days and months after the tragedy.

“I never got to say thank you to all of the people who showed up for me, in all different ways,” she said.

“I wouldn’t be here with out all that support. I’m so grateful.”

Jansons’ burned down home was torn down shortly after the deadly fire. All that remains there now is an empty lot as the new owner, who purchased the property about two years ago, has yet to rebuild.