One of two people pulled from a burning home in Scarborough’s Malvern neighbourhood in the early morning hours of Dec. 23 has died, says the woman’s niece, while the other, her uncle, is “fighting for his life.”
The smoky blaze broke out at a two-storey, detached house at 51 Snowball Cres., just north of Sheppard Avenue East and east of Markham Road, significantly damaging the dwelling and its contents.
Firefighters said they responded to a call just before 5:30 a.m. and rescued two people, a man and a woman both in their early 60s, from the second floor, where the main body of the fire was concentrated.
The victims were both rushed to the hospital in life-threatening condition and sent to the intensive care unit, the couple’s nephew, Paolo Sosa, told CP24 in a Dec. 26 email.
The nephew noted that they learned of the fire from a report that aired on CP24 when another family member recognized the house as belonging to his aunt and uncle.
“They are currently in medically induced comas, and at this time, the prognosis is not good. While my uncle is still trying to survive, my aunt however might not make it,” he wrote on Boxing Day.
Sadly, the aunt, identified as Rebecca Sosa, passed away on Sunday, Jennifer Sosa-Mac, who is Paolo Sosa’s sister, shared in a follow-up email to CP24.
The other person critically injured in the fire is the late woman’s husband, Amadeo (Deo) Sosa, she said. He is the youngest of seven siblings, Sosa-Mac added.
The family’s beloved dog, Lotto, however, remains missing and has not been identified in the home following the fire, a crowdfunding page said.
The couple have three daughters: Crystal, Michelle, and Chelsey. Two of them live in the home that caught fire but were away at the time.
The Sosas’ third daughter lives in Edmonton and has travelled home to be with her family, another relative told CTV News Toronto on the day of the fire.
“We are a big family and all our family from Edmonton have flown in to support the family in this difficult time,” Sosa-Mac later told CP24.
Funds are currently being collected to help the Sosas with their immediate needs and living expenses as well as to bring stability to them as they navigate “complex insurance matters,” the nephew wrote in an email to CP24.
The cause, origin, and circumstances of this fire remain under investigation.
The Office of the Fire Marshal is also probing the incident due to the severity of the victims’ injuries.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Janice Golding and CP24’s Codi Wilson
