MONTREAL - Two members of a family died Wednesday morning after a smoky fire broke out in their Verdun home.

The fire started shortly 3 a.m. in the kitchen of the ground-level suite in a row of triplexes on Rushbrooke St. near Caisse St.

Three people who were living in the home woke up and tried to escape but were overcome by smoke as they reached their front door.

Chief Denis Deschamps says firefighters had trouble getting inside because of where the family collapsed.

"They were stuck at the front door by something that was blocking the door so they had to push hard, to finally find a body behind the door that they took out," said Deschamps.

The three people inside the home were rushed to hospital where a 31-year-old man and a 3-year old boy were pronounced dead.

A 28-year-old woman remains in critical condition.

Neighbours identified them as Joe Yazbeck, Cynthia Beauvais, and their son Gabriel.

Renaud Turcotte was one person who was overcome by emotion after learning about the fire.

"Joe's dead, Gabby's dead and oh my God. I came out and just broke down," said Turcotte. 


Damage contained to apartment

Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames after an hour and a half, and they were able to contain the damage to the unit that caught fire and prevent it from spreading to the upper floors of the building or to adjoining apartments.

For several hours firefighters believed there were no smoke detectors in the home, but shortly after noon they discovered there was one smoke detectors in the apartment, however it did not have a battery inside.

Following the deaths the case was transferred to the Montreal Police Department.

"Our investigators have taken over the case and our fire investigation squad will determine what caused the fire," said Constable Olivier Lapointe.

Neighbours say the family recently moved into the neighbourhood, and celebrated their son's birthday last month.

"I was hoping to God that the mom comes out but even if she does I don't know how she will react," said Larry Meacham. "He was her pride and joy."

As they are doing all summer, firefighters are going door-to-door to check if homeowners and tenants have working smoke detectors.

In the wake of Wednesday's deadly fire, they will concentrate on this Verdun neighbourhood over the next few days.