A Hamilton mother says she is too afraid to return to her apartment after a deadly fire broke out at Eastwood Apartments on Sunday morning, leaving two children and one adult dead.
The three-alarm blaze started at around 10 a.m. in a second-floor unit of the building, according to the Hamilton Fire Department. Flames and thick smoke quickly spread, forcing firefighters to make multiple rescues.
Fiza Edroos, a first-time mother to a one-year-old daughter, says she thought she and her family might not make it out alive.
“I was panicking,” Edroos said. “I told my husband, ‘You grab the baby and run.’ The only thing on my mind was that we had 12 stories to get down.”
Edroos described the terrifying moments when she lost sight of her husband and baby as she tried to help a senior resident put on her shoes and coat. “I didn’t know where they were for a good 30 to 40 minutes. I was so scared,” she said.
She says the building’s fire alarms went off too late to alert residents.
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“The smoke reached before the alarms.”
The Hamilton Fire Department said more than 60 firefighters battled the blaze. While they were able to contain the flames, three people — two children and one adult — died, and 13 others were transported to hospital.
Ontario’s Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. Investigators confirmed the fire began in a single unit, but smoke and flames spread to other parts of the building.
Edroos says she has been reading her lease agreement to see how she can terminate it and leave the building. “There’s no way I can stay there. What if there’s another fire? You expect me to stand on the balcony and wait for death?” she said.
In a statement to tenants, InterRent, the building’s property management company, expressed condolences to the affected families and provided some updates on building maintenance and next steps. However, some residents have raised concerns on Facebook about building maintenance including heating issues, tenant concerns and the building’s fire protection system.
“I’m afraid for my life. And this is not safe,” Edroos exclaimed.
Global News has reached out to InterRent for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
Local MPP Sarah Jama also expressed concerns, calling for a fire safety review in older buildings. “All residents deserve to live in safe, secure housing, and we must take proactive measures to prevent future tragedies,” she wrote in an official statement.
The Canadian Red Cross has stepped in to assist displaced tenants.
While it’s too early to determine a solid cause, fire investigator Jim Kettles with the Office of the Fire Marshal says his team will examine all possible causes, including electrical systems and other potential ignition sources.
“The floor that the fire was on is pretty much inhabited at this point because there was a significant amount of smoke there,” Kettles said.
“We are going to leave no stone unturned with this investigation,” he added.
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https://globalnews.ca/news/10979321/tenant-afraid-to-return-unit-deadly-ontario-fire/
