TORONTO -- The four people killed in a massive house fire in Toronto last week have been identified by friends and neighbours.
The three-alarm blaze broke out at around 4:30 a.m. on Friday in a home located on Gainsborough Road, in the area of Coxwell Avenue and Eastwood Road. Flames and heavy smoke were seen billowing from the roof as several fire trucks rushed to the home.
Four people were pronounced dead after being removed from the home by responding emergency officials. Two other people who were inside the home at the time the fire broke out managed to escape and sustained various injuries.
The four people killed in the fire have been identified by friends as Jana Jansons, her grandson Kai Jansons, Matthew Zdybal, and Amanda Freimanis.
Jana Jansons (right) and her grandson Kai Jansons (top left) were killed in the fire. Kai Jansons' mother, Arija Jansons (bottom left), was seriously injured.
Kai's mother, Arija Jansons, was seriously injured in the fire and is recovering in hospital.
According to Zdybal's father, the 31-year-old originally escaped the fire but died when he went back inside the home to help people who had not yet been saved.
"He died a hero as far as I'm concerned," father John Zdybal told CTV News Toronto by phone from his home in Norfolk County on Monday night. "He died a hero because he went back in and tried to save someone else."
Zdybal's brother Eric Zdybal told CTV News Toronto he spoke with the man who survived the fire on Friday morning.
"He was outside with my brother and my brother ran back in," Eric Zdybal said through tears. He believes his brother was a hero and says "that's who he was always trying to be."
John Zdybal said his son didn't live at the home and was visiting a friend when the fire broke out.
Freimanis, known to friends as "Amanda Panda," was a tenant of the home. She was known among friends for her passion of mixing music.
The other person injured in the fire has been released from hospital. Authorities are working to determine the cause of the fire.
Matthew Zdybal (left) and Amanda Freimanis (right) were also killed in the fire.
Meanwhile, a memorial of flowers and cards continues to grow outside the home.
"It's a terrible tragedy in the neighbourhood and it's just unbelievable," neighbour Lori Collinge told CTV News Toronto on Monday.
Toronto Fire Services Chief Matthew Pegg extended his condolences to the victims and their family from the scene on Friday.
"This is one of the worst tragedies by fire that I've seen in my career and I can tell you that our team has performed really well," he said. “I've had the chance now to meet with our senior command team and many of our firefighters on the scene and these are tough days. So my admiration to them all."
