Hamilton Mountain blaze claims lives of two adults, two eight-year-old children

Chris Theriault didn't realize their next-door neighbour's townhouse was on fire until they heard a knock on their second-floor window.

Theriault's stepdad spotted one of the neighbours on their shared garage roof - knocking on the window and screaming that there was a fire on Thursday night.

The horrifying sound of children bellowing for help was coming from the unit next to his east Hamilton Mountain townhouse on 14 Derby St., Theriault recounted at the scene Friday morning.

About three or four neighbours were trying to get a ladder up to the man on the roof to rescue him.

It was around 11 p.m., just days after Christmas, and billowing clouds of black smoke emerged from Unit 4 of the sprawling townhouse complex off Rymal Road.

Fire crews were told that people were trapped on the second floor of a townhome near Upper Gage Avenue and Rymal Road East.

Crews rescued two adults and two children from the fully involved fire and transported them to the hospital in critical condition.

Supt. Dave Thompson of the Hamilton Paramedic Service said an eight-year-old boy, an eight-year-old girl, a 40-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were taken to the hospital without vital signs. Resuscitation efforts were ongoing en route.

Two adults and two children were later pronounced dead.

They did everything they could through very difficult conditions," Chief Dave Cunliffe said about his fire crews and other first responders. It is very difficult when we bring people out and they, unfortunately, succumb to their injuries."

The fire chief said two pet rabbits inside the home were also killed in the fire.

The townhouse exterior was blackened from smoke Friday and a charred hole remained where a front door once stood.

Police tape wrapped around a tree in the front lawn and crossed an open garage door where a pink toy car could be seen inside.

While the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal is still investigating the blaze, so far, it does not appear the home had working smoke detectors, said investigator Mike Ross.

As of Friday afternoon, the investigators are yet to determine the exact location in the house where the fire started and what ignited it, Ross said.

The damages to the house are significant, with fire spreading across the ground floor, migrating up the stairwell and into the second floor, the investigator said. Smoke spread throughout the entire house," Ross said.

There were six people in the house when the fire started, Hamilton police said in a statement Friday. Two other people were also taken to the hospital and were reported to be in stable condition.

The police did not confirm the identities or relations between the occupants of the house on Friday.

Juliana Tavares, a family friend of residents of Unit 4, said some of the occupants were related and that the kids in the house were siblings.

The next-door neighbour, Theriault, said the family of four - mother, father and two kids - had a roommate living with them.

The kids didn't deserve anything like that," said Theriault. It's devastating ... hearing the kids crying for help, and then they perished."

Residents in the two adjacent townhomes were evacuated Thursday night and were allowed to go back in on Friday. The fire caused smoke damage to the adjacent units.

Theriault's townhouse, which shares a wall with Unit 4, also suffered damages from the fire Thursday night. He said his bedroom ceiling is totally gutted" and everything soaked."

The investigation is with the Office of the Fire Marshal along with Hamilton police.

-With files from The Canadian Press

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com