Funeral held for family of five killed in Brampton house fire

Three young children and their parents were laid to rest Saturday morning after dying from a fire that ripped through their Brampton home earlier this week.

Raven Ali-O'Dea, 29, her husband Nazir Ali, 28, and their children, seven-year-old Layla, eight-year-old Jayden, and 10-year-old Alia, died Monday morning after a fire erupted at their house on Conestoga Drive, just before 2 a.m.

Fire crews said the blaze was so extreme that firefighters had to retreat at first before attempting to rescue those inside.

They pulled four people out but all of them succumbed to their injuries in hospital. A fifth person was found dead inside.

The children’s maternal grandmother, who lived with the family, suffered severe burns and was transported to hospital in critical condition. Two tenants living in the home's basement managed to escape uninjured.

On Saturday morning, a private funeral for the family was held at Jame Masjid in Mississauga, followed by a burial at the Brampton Funeral Home & Cemetery.

“It’s a very sad time for the whole family. That something like this happened, this accident,” said Nazir’s uncle Iqbal Vazir.

“Nazir Ali and Raven and the kids were full of energy, and they were always were there to help.”

People gather at the funeral for the family of five killed in a Brampton house fire on March 28, 2022. (Courtesy: Corey Baird)

Vazir expressed his gratitude to the people who attended the funeral and said it shows how many people loved his nephew and the family.

“He was helpful in the community and his friends, and everybody, and that is the reason that today we had such a big funeral because they were very nice people,” Vazir said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, however the children’s grandfather told CTV News Toronto on Monday that he believes the home did not have working smoke detectors.

Ontario Fire Marshal John Pegg has urged the public to ensure that they have working fire alarms to avoid more tragedies like this from happening again.

“Fire spreads so fast in our houses nowadays with the construction that we have and the plastics that are in there, so the smoke is so thick and black (as a result),” he said to reporters at the scene on Tuesday.. “If you don't have a working smoke alarm, unfortunately we are going to see more tragedies like over my shoulder. We need to get serious. We need to be serious about smoke alarms.”

Fire investigators are seen at a home on Conestoga Drive in Brampton on March 29, 2022 after a fatal fire. (Francis Gibbs/CTV News Toronto)