An eight-year-old boy remains in a Montreal hospital after being critically injured in a fire that killed his parents and two siblings.
The fire broke out early Tuesday in an upstairs unit of an apartment building in Les Coteaux, Que. and was likely caused by a cigarette, according to firefighters.
Quebec provincial police say 37-year-old Patrick Gagnon, 32-year-old Karine Desrochers-Gauthier and their four-year-old daughter Laurie died in the fire. The couple's two-year-old son Felix also later died in hospital.
The only survivor was young Mathis, 8, who was still in hospital as of Dec. 27.
Neighbour and relative Fernand Deschamps said that the children's grandfather suffered a heart attack after hearing the news.
Mariette Lalonde Desrochers, the children's great-grandmother, said that she rushed upstairs and attempted to enter when she realized what was going on.
"I opened the door. I wanted to come in but it was a wall of smoke,” she told CTV Montreal. "We phoned 911. We couldn't do anything. Those children were the loves of our lives."
Local fire chief Michel Pitre says all five people were unconscious when they were removed from the apartment.
He also said no smoke detectors were found in the apartment.
The SQ has taken over the investigation into the cause of the fire.
