Investigators comb through debris after fire kills Brampton, Ont. family

Grief counsellors are at schools in a Brampton neighbourhood after a fire tore through a home there on Monday morning, killing three small children and their parents.

The fire began in a home on Conestoga Drive just before 2 a.m. Monday.

It was so ferocious that firefighters had to retreat at first before attempting rescues of those inside.

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

Family posting on social media and crowdfunding websites identified the parents as Nazir Ali and Raven Ali O’Dea, and their three children as Alia, 10, Jayden, 8 and Layla, 7.

The children's father, Nazir Ali, and mother, Raven Ali-O'Dea, were killed in the fire along with their children Alia, Jayden, and Layla. (Supplied)

The children’s maternal grandmother also suffered severe burns and remains in hospital. Two tenants living in the home's basement managed to escape uninjured.

The children attended a school in the Peel District School Board.

“Counsellors and other support staff from the school board's Critical Incident Response Team are available to assist students and staff during this difficult time,” PDSB spokesperson Malon Edwards told CP24. “The board has also extended support to the school communities’ families.”

At the charred remains of the home on Tuesday, fire investigators in coveralls were seen coming in and out of the structure.

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)

Deputy Ontario Fire Marshal Tim Beckett said they will be at the scene for some time.

“We’ve got a large team that will assemble and our task today is really to start to put the pieces together, of what caused yesterday’s tragic fire.”

He said they were not yet at a point to announce any findings but he implored everyone in the province to check the status of their smoke detectors.

“We’re pleading to grandparents right now, go and check and make sure that your grandchildren are safe in their homes. The home is supposed to be the safest place and unfortunately five people died in a place that’s supposed to be safest.”

The children’s maternal grandfather told CTV News Toronto on Monday that he did not believe the home had working smoke alarms.

Police kept Conestoga Drive closed again on Tuesday to allow investigators room to maneuver.