The Office of the Fire Marshal is on scene investigating a deadly fire at a Mississauga townhouse that claimed the lives of a man and a woman on Sunday night.
Firefighters and paramedics were called to a home in the area of South Millway and Burnhamthorpe Road at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday for a reported fire
Reports from the scene suggested that the two victims were using a barbecue outside the home when it exploded and caught fire.
A man and a woman were found without vital signs when emergency crews arrived on scene.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was rushed to hospital but later died.One dog also died in the fire.
Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, Fire Chief Tim Beckett would not confirm if there was an explosion or if the barbecue was the source of the fire.
He said, “Reports are they were cooking outside. The whereabouts of the barbecue at the time will be part of the investigation… We’ve heard speculation of explosions.”
“All of that is speculation at this time. The investigation will look at those for sure but we are not making any determination at this time whether the barbecue was or was not involved in it.”
He said the Office of the Fire Marshal and the coroner were on scene on Sunday night and the investigation will continue Monday.
“We are working closely with Peel Regional Police, the coroner’s office, and the OFM on the investigation,” Beckett said.
“The OFM will attend with the coroner probably for a post-mortem, at which time we will return back to the scene here to start conducting the cause investigation.”
