A small town is in mourning for a family in the Outaouais region that lost two children in a fire.
The SQ provincial police said the parents escaped the flames with their baby. They were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and treated for shock.
When the fire broke out the mother was able to save her baby but neither parent could rescue the other two children, aged three and four, who were in the house.
The fire in Gracefield, Quebec, a small town 95 km north of Ottawa, started at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and raged on until late in the night.
Two small bodies were found in the burnt rubble, the SQ confirmed.
The mayor of Gracefield, Joanne Poulin, said everybody in the small town is shaken up by the tragedy, and want to help the family. Poulin also said the town’s flags were lowered to half-mast Friday morning.
SQ Sgt. Claude Denis said firefighters and police were on site overnight and began their investigation in the morning.
Coroners from Montreal arrived Friday morning. Denis said an autopsy will confirm the identities of the remains.
Gracefield’s mayor Joanne Poulin told reporters that the town is taking the news hard, including the firefighters.
“They are volunteer firefighters and we’ve never had a fire like this with bodies,” explained Poulin. “ For them, it was very difficult because they know the family. These are young firefighters who have kids of their own. It’s very difficult psychologically.”
Poulin said the residents of Gracefield started raising money to support the family. Poulin said there are plans to buy them furniture and rebuild the family’s house.
The family has five other children who were not home at the time. Most were returning home from school, while one was on a trip.
