Family and friends are mourning the loss of a middle-aged Toronto man killed in a north Etobicoke house fire on Tuesday afternoon.
Darryl Allen, 54, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and was bound by a wheelchair, could not be rescued in the two-alarm blaze at the bungalow on Waterbeach Crescent, near Albion and Martin Grove Roads. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man's father Gary and the victim's nephew Dane escaped the fire and suffered smoke inhalation.
Dane and neighbour Charlie Reid tried to crawl into the home and rescue Darryl, but the smoke was too strong.
"(The smoke) was maybe 15 inches off the floor at that time, so I took a couple of gasps of that stuff and I said, 'We're not going to be able to make it, it's too thick,' and I said, 'Come on, we gotta get out of here,'" Reid said.
Fire officials believe the fire started in the deceased's room. Police said the Allens did hear smoke detectors ringing during the fire.
Reid said it was difficult grasping the tragic event.
"This is tough. You grew up with the kids and then this," he said, choking back tears.
Neighbour Sarah Elliott remembered Darryl as a kind and positive man.
"He seemed to be in good spirits," she said. "He gave us a laugh. He was always there with a smile."
With files from CTV Toronto's Matet Nebres
