Man, 91, and woman, 46, dead after house fire in Boisbriand

A second deadly fire within 12 hours in Quebec has claimed the life of two more people.

Police in Therese-de Blainville (RIPTB) are investigating the cause of a fatal residential fire in Boisbriand, just north of Montreal.

The RIPTB reported that an 8:30 a.m. 911 call on Friday reported heavy smoke coming from a house on Beth-Halevy Street.

"The fire was quickly brought under control by the fire service and may have been accidental in origin," said RIPTB inspector Karine Desaulniers.

Firefighters on the scene were told that two people, a 91-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman, were inside.

Both were taken to a hospital, and were pronounced dead.

"Our investigators and fire scene technician will try to determine this in the next few hours," said Desaulniers. 

COMMUNITY DEVASTATED

The victims were members of the Hasidic Jewish community in Boisbriand, according to Issac Weiss, who works with Shomrim, a public security service in the community.

Weiss said when the fire broke out, a neighbour tried to wake the couple to no avail. The fire department arrived within minutes, he said, and broke down the door.

Four families, about 20 people in total, live in the home and were there when the fire broke out, according to Weiss. Shomrim helped evacuate the home and get the evacuees access to food and shelter. They are now staying with family.

Everyone in the community – including police and doctors – are working as fast as they can so they are able to bury the victims before 4 p.m., he said, as they must bury them the same day and before Shabbat, according to their religious beliefs.

"The community is devastated," said Weiss. "This is the first time this has happened in our community, in 60 years of existence that someone has died due to a house fire. Everybody is in shock but we are all coming together to support the families."

ANOTHER FATAL FIRE

It is the second deadly fire where two people died in Quebec on Friday.

Firefighters found the lifeless bodies of two people after a house fire in Rawdon, Que. in the early morning hours. The investigation into the causes of that fire is ongoing.