A soon-to-be family of five from downtown Toronto’s St. James Town neighbourhood is slowly working to rebuild their lives after losing everything in a fire. The blaze broke out on Aug. 4 at around 3 a.m. in the eighth floor unit at 666 Ontario St. that Nahom Asrat shared with his pregnant wife and two children - a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. Asrat said he was sleeping on a sofa on the balcony of the two-bedroom apartment that warm night when he heard some sort of crackling noise coming from the living room. Moments later, he said there was a large, fast-moving fire. “I saw black smoke and blowing fire,” Asrat told CP24 during a recent interview from a hotel room in North York where he and his family have been staying. He said he jumped up, began screaming for help, and proceeded to enter the apartment through the primary bedroom as the fire had already engulfed much of the unit’s main living area. Asrat’s wife, Ubah Adan, was asleep in that bedroom, while their two children were sleeping in a bedroom on the other side of the unit. The couple said they initially struggled to open the main door but were eventually able to get it open and run to safety. However, they soon realized that their daughter remained inside. “We thought everyone was out but then we realized that our daughter was not there,” Adan shared. “I told (Nahom), ‘No, she’s inside.’, but by the time I told him that it was flaming in the whole room.” Asrat said he returned to the apartment and desperately began searching for his daughter in the inferno, yelling her name, and feeling around the pitch-black main living space. The two eventually connected inside the living room area where she collapsed into his arms. Asrat then carried his daughter out of the unit and down several flights of stairs to safety. The couple later learned that their daughter had gone to the balcony in search of fresh air. “I say angels saved them,” Adan said. As for Asrat, he said he doesn’t consider himself a hero, just a dad who would do anything to protect his children. Father seriously hurt in fire During the ordeal, the soon-to-be father of three sustained serious second-degree burns on his face, chest, neck, shoulder, back, head, arms, and hands. Asrat was rushed to hospital and spent four days in the intensive care unit in a medically-induced coma as he recovered from a collapsed lung. He has since been released and continues to recover from his severe injuries, including the effects of smoke inhalation. It is expected that he’ll be off work for some time as he recuperates. The couple’s daughter was also injured, sustaining burns to her forehead and ear, but is now on the mend. The trauma of going through such a terrifying experience will take some time for them all to work through, Adan shared. “I’m just thankful to God I didn’t have to deal with something else. This situation we can go through. We’ll be OK,” she said. ‘Everything’s gone’ Their apartment, however, is heavily damaged and all of their possessions were lost in the blaze. “Our house is 100 per cent gone,” Asrat said. Adan said they were able to return to their apartment for the first time earlier this week. “Everything’s gone, totally burned down,” she said. Adan, meanwhile, is due to give birth on Sept. 28. “Our life is upside down” she said. “I’m stressed and unsure what’s happening because (my husband) is the breadwinner. I’m not working and everything is very expensive.” The couple say they believe the fire started either in an air conditioning unit or possibly a modem. It quickly spread, they said, to the balcony, igniting Asrat’s e-bike, which has a lithium-ion battery. An investigation is now underway to determine the cause, origin, and circumstances of this incident. Community coming together to help The family, who have no relatives in Canada, have insurance and are working with their provider to secure temporary housing. The Red Cross is assisting them in the meantime as are individuals and organizations from the community. “I want Ubah to know she’s not alone … (Her and her family) can’t even go home,” said Lucas Brito, who lives in the same building and has created a crowdfunding page, with the family’s approval, to help support them. That campaign has raised nearly $14,000 as of publication. Brito said he did not know the family before the fire but when he heard about their situation felt compelled to do what he could to help. “There’s been a lot of momentum,” said Brito. “A lot of people are reaching out to help. This tragedy has brought our community together, that’s a bit of a silver lining.” Brito said the goal is to collect funds and gift cards for the family as well as essentials to help them get through this transition period. “We’re just taking it one day at a time,” he said. Adan said Brito is no longer a stranger to them but is “like family.” “I’m so surprised that a random person is helping us like this,” she said. “We don’t even know how we’re going to thank him.” Local councillor, MPP also supporting family The city councillor for the neighbourhood, Chris Moise, said he’s “always believed in the strength of the community,” and seeing it “on full display” in St. James Town has “moved him deeply.” “I have been in contact with residents close to the family, and I am grateful to hear that those who were injured are recovering. My prayers are with each of them and with their loved ones as they heal,” the Toronto Centre representative wrote in an email to CP24. “What has unfolded since is a testament to who we are. Faith groups, neighbourhood organizations, and so many individual residents have stepped up with open hearts and open hands. That kind of love for one another is not something you can manufacture. It is just who St. James Town is.” Local MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam is also doing her part to advocate for the family, pushing the Red Cross to extend the family’s hotel stay as long as needed. “This family really needs our support. They need a new home ASAP to get stabilized,” said Wong-Tam. The Toronto Centre MPP put forward a private member’s motion last November that calls on the provincial government, in collaboration with the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, to develop a strategy to reduce the fire risk when it comes to lithium-ion batteries.
