3 dead in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que. house fire

Three people are dead after a fire in a residential building in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.

Three people are dead after a fire ripped through a residential building in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., in the Montérégie area.

Provincial police (SQ) said they received 911 calls around 6 p.m. concerning the fire on Ellice Street, about 72 kilometres from Montreal.

Yves Harris, 79, and his two daughters Carole, 59, and Nathalie, 55, were rushed to hospital where they were declared dead.

Carole was visiting her father and sister who lived together, according to her partner Christian Ruel, who was not expecting to see her for the last time when he kissed her goodbye.

Ruel said Nathalie had recently taken her father into her home because he was in poor health.

Christian Poulin, head of the Valleyfield fire department, said once at the home, they found two unconscious people on the kitchen floor. A third person was in the bedroom. There were no working smoke alarms in the home.

Preliminary reports suggest the three died of smoke inhalation.

“The tragedy was also an avoidable one, according to the fire department,” he told CTV News between sobs. “It turns out there were no smoke detectors inside the apartment.”

Poulin is urging people to make sure they have functional smoke alarms in their homes. It’s the second deadly fire in the area in six months because of their absence.

But in a small community like Valleyfield, losing three people in one tragedy hurts everyone. And for Ruel, it’s a drama that cut short a bond he created years ago with the Harris family.