4 people, including 2 children, killed in 3-alarm fire in Hamilton

Four people are dead, including two children, following a three-alarm fire in Hamilton.

Firefighters were called to a townhouse at 14 Derby Street in the area of Upper Gage Avenue and Rymal Road just after 11 p.m. Thursday night. When they arrived, the centre unit of a row of townhouses was fully involved with heavy smoke and fire coming from the front and back of the unit.

Crews were also advised that there were people trapped on the second floor of the townhome.

“Crews advancing to the second floor encountered heavy smoke and high heat,” fire officials said in a statement. “During search and rescue operations, four people were found on the second floor by firefighters and were quickly removed.”

Firefighters, along with paramedics, began life-saving measures as the four were transported to the hospital, where they were later declared dead.

“They did everything they could through very difficult conditions,” said Hamilton fire Chief Dave Cunliffe. “It is very difficult when we bring people out, and they, unfortunately, succumb to their injuries.”

Two other people found inside the home were also taken to the hospital, where they were in stable condition, according to police.

Police did not immediately confirm the victims’ identities, the relation between them, or details about the other two people who were found inside.

Juliana Tavares, a family friend of the residents of the unit, said some of the people in the house were related and that the kids were a brother and sister with “an amazing bond.”

She described the brother as the “most sensitive young boy” who helped others and the sister as a “brilliant, intelligent young girl” who “lit up a room.”

Tavares said she visited the two survivors on Friday and they are “traumatized” and “absolutely devastated.”

Fire officials say the blaze was eventually brought under control, and there were no other injuries reported.

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office has been called into investigate and say there’s no evidence there were working smoke alarms in the home at this time.

The fire is believed to have started on the ground floor in the rear of the house, but they are still investigating the cause.

Investigator Mike Ross with the Fire Marshal’s office say the fire caused significant damage to the house. “You’ve had a significant amount of fire to go through the entire ground floor, migrate up through the stairwell into the second floor and cause quite a bit of damage to the second floor.”

A neighbour who was forced to evacuate his home due to the fire says he could hear cries for help coming from the home.

“There was Trevor in the window trying to get out, and we could hear kids screaming that they wanted out. Sadly they didn’t get out,” said Chris Theriault, who added three or four other neighbours tried to get a ladder up to a man on the second floor.

Photo courtesy Jason Gaidola/CHCH

“2022 has been a tragic situation for fire fatalities right across the province,” said Tim Beckett with the Office of the Fire Marshal.

“We want to remind people, working smoke alarms save lives …that added protection could mean the difference between life and death,” he said, adding the investigation will look to determine if the home had working alarms at the time of the fire.

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath called the news tragic while thanking first responders for what was for their efforts in what must have been a “personally devastating” scene.

Absolutely tragic news regarding a fire taking the lives of two adults and two children in a home on Derby Street. Hamilton Police are investigating identities and notifying next of kin. The fire investigation is in conjunction with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office. 1/2 #Hamont

— Andrea Horwath (@AndreaHorwath) December 30, 2022

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report