Funeral held for five Brampton family members that died in house fire

A funeral was held Saturday for five members of a Brampton family that died in an early morning house fire earlier this week.

Emergency crews responded to numerous calls around 2 a.m. on Monday for a fire at a residence on Conestoga Drive, in the area of Kennedy Road and Sandalwood Parkway.

Two adults and a child were pulled from the home and pronounced dead. Two other children were transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and died shortly afterward.

The five victims were identified as 29-year-old Raven Alisha Ali-O’Dea, her 28-year-old husband Nazir Ali, and their children — six-year-old Layla Rose Ali-O’Dea, eight-year-old Jayden Prince Ali-O’Dea, and 10-year-old Alia Marilyn Ali-O’Dea.

The cause, origin and circumstances of the fire are under investigation.

RELATED: Fire marshal urges residents to check smoke alarms after fatal Brampton fire

The Ontario Fire Marshal urged residents to ensure their smoke alarms are working following the tragic circumstances in Brampton.

On Tuesday, Jon Pegg said they had not determined if there were working smoke alarms in the home, but the grandfather who attended the scene Monday told them he felt they did not have working smoke alarms.

Raven Alisha Ali-O’Dea’s father, Luis Felipa, describes the children as “angels” and says he was planning to take them to Canada’s Wonderland this summer.

Members of the public paid their respects at Jame Masjid in Mississauga on Saturday morning.

Five family members were pronounced dead after a house fire in Brampton on Monday, March 28, 2022. Photo courtesy: Tammie Sutherland/CityNews.

“They lived six years in there with no problems”

Felipa said his daughter and son-in-law purchased the home last year from the landlord they were renting from at a steal because the landlord cared about his daughter. He said his father then gave her some money to renovate.

Ali-O’Dea and Ali decided to renovate the entire home, hiring a team to replace the floors, stove, lights and paint. The renovations wrapped up two months ago.

Felipa said he’s been wondering if the renovations had anything to do with the fire – were the smoke alarms put back in after the painters took them out? But he said he’s done speculating because it’s “killing” him.

He’s now anxiously waiting for the results of the Office of the Fire Marshal, Peel Regional Police and Brampton Fire and Emergency Services’ investigation.

Felipa said his daughter used to work long hours at a landscaping company, starting her day at 4 a.m., working until about noon, picking up the kids from school in the afternoon, and returning to work until 8 p.m. He said Ali worked as a delivery driver and that he loved him like his own son, describing him as an affectionate father.

The two were high school sweethearts. Felipa said they worked hard to give their kids the best life they could, often taking them to Niagara Falls, Ont., where they loved to visit an indoor waterpark, buying them lots of clothes and toys always keeping their fridge stocked so they would never go hungry.

CityNews confirmed that the children were Peel District School Board students.

“They were very, very good to them,” Felipa said.

“Whatever they wanted, they had.”

Felipa said his goal now is to become an advocate on the issue of fire prevention, noting he plans to speak to officials in the City of Brampton and the Ontario government about enacting a law or measure in which firefighters can visit homes at least once a year to ensure their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are working.

He’s also planning to use whatever money is raised through a benefit fundraiser and memorial event being held on May 21 in Brampton to purchase smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to give to local firefighters to distribute them to residents who can’t afford them.

“I don’t want nobody, nobody to go through what I’m going through,” he said through tears. “This is a terrible thing to go through.”

Mayor Patrick Brown issued a statement on the day of the fatal fire, offering his condolences while saying he was grateful for the tireless efforts of first responders “who faced very difficult conditions.”

With files from Michael Ranger and Meredith Bond of CityNews