A deadly house fire in Oshawa has shattered a family, killing a mother and her young daughter Wednesday morning.
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Oshawa Fire Services say crews responded to the blaze at 70 McGrigor St. – near King St. W. and Centre St. S. – just after 8 a.m. and the call was quickly upgraded to a two-alarm fire.
“When our crews arrived on scene, they encountered heavy smoke and flames from all levels of the house – the front porch, the main floor and the second storey,” Oshawa Fire Services Deputy Chief Todd Wood told reporters at the scene.
“Offensive operations started immediately,” he said explaining crews began dousing the flames with water.
Wood said firefighters removed three victims from the home – one was carried down the stairs and out the front door and the other two were rescued through the front windows.
“At this time, I can confirm the 46-year-old female has been pronounced deceased and the nine-year-old female has also been pronounced deceased,” he said, adding a 12-year-old girl and a 56-year-old man were taken to hospital.
Wood said the victims were all family members – a husband, wife and their two daughters.
Durham Regional Police said responding officers used their fire extinguishers to battle the flames until firefighters arrived on scene.
Three officers had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known but the Ontario Fire Marshal will be investigating.
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Wood said “in this chaos of what was happening,” firefighters were not immediately able to say if they heard smoke detectors sounding while battling the blaze.
He offered condolences to the family and those who know them.
“It is a tough day for everyone,” Wood said. “It’s tough for our crews, it’s tough for the officers.”
Firefighters were still battling the blaze late Wednesday morning.