Remains of 1 adult found in burned-out Brampton home, as search continues for 2 unaccounted for occupants

CP24’s Courtney Heels reports from the scene of a deadly Brampton house fire, where crews continue to search for three people still unaccounted for.

The remains of one person have been found in the wreckage of a burned-out house in Brampton, Ont., that caught fire early Thursday morning, say police.

During a brief update on Friday afternoon, Const. Tyler Bell, of Peel Regional Police, said crews searching through the heavily damaged residence located what are believed to be the remains of an adult.

He added that demolition and search operations, which began at the home at 12 Banas Way, near McLaughlin and Remembrance roads, just south of Mayfield Road, on Friday morning, have now stopped so that the coroner can attend the scene.

“So this does delay the process. So on behalf of myself, Brampton fire and the Ontario Fire Marshal, this will be the only update we provide until the search has been completed in totality,” Bell said.

Crews had been searching for three unaccounted for occupants of the dwelling, one of whom is believed to be a toddler.

On Thursday, emergency responders at the scene of the two-alarm blaze located two people deceased — one inside the residence and the other outside.

Four others, who had jumped from the second-floor window of the burning home, were rushed to the hospital with critical injuries.

Three of them, including a five-year-old boy, are now in serious condition, while the fourth individual remains in life-threatening condition, Peel Regional Police said on Friday morning.

Investigators said a total of 11 people lived in the home: nine members of a multi-generational family and two individuals in the basement apartment, who were not hurt.

Adjacent homes were also damaged during the fire. Officials say the occupants of those residences all got out safely.

Speaking with the media late Friday morning, representatives from Peel Regional Police, Brampton Fire and Emergency Services, and The Office of the Fire Marshal provided an update on the investigation.

Deputy Fire Marshal Carrie Clark said they all remain on scene as crews work “slowly and methodically to bring the structure down in order to create a safe space for the investigators to work through the debris and look for all the key elements.”

Clark said the goal is to ensure they don’t disrupt anything that may be critical to the investigation, noting that a timeline of how long this may take is unclear at this point.

She added that between six and 16 people have been evacuated from their home as the demolition is underway and will be kept out until it is deemed safe to return.

Const. Tyler Bell said Peel police do not have any updates for now as to whether or not this fire was suspicious.

He said the condition of one of the victims, a man, has now returned to critical, “which is not uncommon with fire-related injuries.”

The three other individuals in hospital are stable, said Bell, but they are currently unable to speak with investigators.

One of those victims, a five-year-old child, is “doing well,” he added.

Chief Andy Glynn, of Brampton Fire and Emergency Services, said with the tragic outcome of this incident, they’ll be reviewing all of the documents they have related to any other registered licenses for any other multi-unit residences in the municipality, and would “continue to work towards ensuring compliance.”

“Obviously it’s concerning for us. You know, this is a tragic fire, and it affects everybody, so we’re going to continue to do whatever we can to prevent this,” he said.

‘This whole community is devastated’

Neighbours, meanwhile, are reeling, many expressing shock, grief, and frustration about what happened.

“It’s so sad to know that there was a child involved. This whole community is devastated… Everybody in the community is really sad because this (happened) right in front of a school,” a woman named Rochelle, who lives in the area, told CP24’s Courtney Heels on Friday morning.

“It’s a problem in this community because there are too many homes here that have multiple renters, and the landlords just basically rent to everybody. There’s too many people living in one home. This is an ongoing problem, here in Brampton.”

She said bylaws need to be enforced to ensure tragedies like this don’t happen again.

“I hope this is a wake-up call for some landlords to maybe do things the right way and actually rent legally and responsibly and make sure that their places are up to fire code,” Rochelle said.

Another neighbour said he often saw two older women who lived at that address walking in the area and playing in the nearby park with three children.

‘Absentee landlord’

On Thursday, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown called the owner of the house an “absentee landlord,” saying they are currently out of the country for an extended period.

The mayor said the homeowner had submitted a building permit application to create a second unit in the basement in 2019.

That permit was issued, he said, however the homeowner failed to request an inspection for completed work.

“Given the absence of required inspection requests, so there was a number of times where the city went to inspect the location, it resulted in an order to comply being issued on the property,” he said, adding this property was not licensed for multiple tenants.

Brown could not say if there were failings to the Ontario Building Code or Ontario Fire Code, adding that the municipality has been trying to gain compliance since 2019.

“This obviously is going to be investigated but, obviously, as mayor, when I hear that investigations were refused, the entry was refused, it gives me great concern that, unfortunately, this is going to end up being one of those circumstances that could have been avoided, and our city has a heavy heart today,” Brown said.

“I think this really speaks to the fact why it is so critical that if you’re having multiple renters that you adhere to building code and fire code, and I hope, I hope that we don’t have to hear about another tragedy like this.”

Investigation continues

Peel police remain at the scene of the fire to both support the ongoing Office of the Fire Marshal investigation and ensure the scene is secure.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The investigation remains ongoing.

With files from CP24’s Courtney Heels, Codi Wilson, and Bryann Aguilar, and CTV News Toronto’s Janice Golding.

Editor’s Note: The landlord of the property has since issued a statement denying some of the claims made by Mayor Brown. You can read the update here.