FIRE VICTIM MOURNED
Paul Ventura was working his way back into real estate after failed business venture
Man who died in Junction blaze Sunday was building real estate career, friends say,
Paul Ventura was bouncing back from hard times and eager to “take on the world” when he was killed early Sunday morning, after a fire erupted at the Dupont St. rooming house where he had lived for the past six months.
Steven Upegui, the broker of record at Upperclass Realty Inc., met Ventura last fall. The Montreal-born, Portugal-bred man answered an ad Upegui put in local newspapers and on Kijiji looking for people to intern at the real-estate brokerage.
“We met at the office. He came by bus. It was kind of unfortunate because he sat there for half an hour, 45 minutes, talking to me and basically spent an hour and a half, two hours trying to get to me,” Upegui told the Star on Sunday, only hours after learning of Ventura’s death.
Ventura told Upegui his own real estate business in Portugal had gone under after a couple of deals went sour. But Ventura was keen to get back in the game; he was working on getting his real-estate licence and was already trying to recruit customers for his future brokerage.
“He had the mentality that he was going to take over the world,” said Upegui. “One deal at a time, he was going to take over the world in real estate.”
Toronto Fire and police were called to1569 Dupont St., between Franklin and Perth Aves., around 12:20 a.m. Sunday and found the second floor engulfed in flames. It took 12 fire trucks and 45 firefighters 11 minutes to knock down the fire, Toronto Fire Capt. Mike Strapko told the Star Sunday.
It was only after the fire was put out that crews were able to access the third-floor bedroom that owner and fellow resident Manuel Faria said Ventura rented. That’s where, officials said, crews found a man without vital signs. He was taken outside, where firefighters performed CPR. The man could not be revived and was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police have not officially released the identity of the victim, but neighbours, coworkers and friends say it was Ventura who was killed.
The Ontario Fire Marshal has taken over the investigation. Strapko said Sunday an autopsy would be scheduled in the coming days to determine the exact cause of death. Toronto police are also investigating the possibility that the property was an illegal rooming house. Nuno Domingos, who owns Gaivota Café Bar just down the street, remembered Ventura as a creature of habit. A “big boy” but generally quiet, Domingos said Ventura would always sit at the end of the bar and order the same thing: an espresso.
“He always came in well-dressed, in adress shirt. I’d very rarely see him in the T-shirt.”
Reno Silva, a local musician who regularly performs in Toronto’s Por- tuguese community, got to know Ventura after he started coming to Silva’s shows in 2011. Silva called his friend a strong, lively man who was always begging him to play songs by his favourite artist, Frank Sinatra.
Silva was shocked to learn he had even been at home at the time of the fire. “It made no sense when I heard that, because he’d normally be out by that point. Not saying he was a barhopper, but there was maybe a few places he would be at.”
Eduardo Vieira, director of Correio Damanha Canada, a local Portuguese newspaper where Ventura worked in marketing for a couple of months last year, said Ventura had no family in Canada. The Portuguese community is scrambling to find his parents back home, Vieira said. A Facebook post driving the online search to reach Ventura’s family had already been shared more than 1,000 times by Monday evening.
Upegui said every time he received an email Monday, he found himself hoping it was from his most motivated student.
“He’s a tough one to lose. I really wanted him to be around and part of our real-estate family.” With files from Jackie Hong