Elderly man dead after three-alarm house fire in Brampton, fire chief says

An elderly man has died after a house fire in Brampton on Saturday morning, the city's fire chief said. 

Crews responded to the scene near Mississauga Road and Buick Boulevard around 7:30 a.m., Brampton Fire Chief Nick Ruller said.

A multi-generational family was living in the home, and five of the eight residents were home at the time of the fire, he said. 

When crews arrived, the fire had spread to multiple floors. Firefighters were told that people were trapped on the second floor and possibly in the basement, Ruller said. 

Before firefighters arrived on scene, one person had already escaped from the basement with a passerby's help. Another person had jumped from a second floor window, the fire chief said. 

The fire was upgraded to a third-alarm fire so that crews could get additional resources.

"It was a rapidly escalating, complex incident," Ruller said. 

Crews with hose lines went throughout the building trying to keep the fire at bay, while others were searching for occupants, Ruller said. Exterior crews set up ladders outside and entered the second floor window to continue the search. 

Police said three adult men were rescued from the home. One was pronounced dead in hospital. Ruller said the victim was an elderly man. 

The other two men have non-life threatening injuries, police said. 

The residents who had escaped the house before crews arrived on scene gave fighters important information about where the other occupants were located, he said. 

The cause of the fire is not known, Ruller said. 

Olufunke Egbuedo lives a few houses down from where the fire happened Saturday morning. She said she saw smoke coming out of the house and woke the rest of her family up because she was concerned the fire could spread to other homes. 

She said she was sad to learn it was a family she was familiar with because she used to see them when she was out on her evening walk. 

"[It's a] very quiet neighborhood and very quiet family, just so sad," she said. 

Her sons, Isaac Egbuedo and Agi Igbayilola, said their dogs used to play together. 

"I realized that they were the same people that we talked to every time our dogs walked together," Igbayilola said. 

"I feel bad, it's just tragic."

Crews will likely stay on scene Saturday night: fire chief

Fire crews are now focused on extinguishing hotspots in the house, Ruller said. They will likely remain on scene Saturday evening and possibly through the night, he said. 

Ruller said the fire was an important reminder for people to check their smoke alarms are working. It is not known whether there were working smoke alarms in this particular house, he said. 

The Ontario Fire Marshall is investigating the incident, police said. 

Mississauga Road remains closed between Mayfield Road and Sandalwood Parkway W.