Two killed, two hurt in Mississauga blaze
Armed with a smile and a good sense of humour, Alice Kret was well-known for showing up at her neighbours’ doors with delicious home-cooked meals.
“Alice would always make perogies and cabbage rolls. She always made a special batch for me,” said Jim Detienne, who lives a few doors down from Kret in a Mississauga townhouse complex. “She was unbelievably nice.”
Residents and a family member identified Kret, who was in her late 70s, as one of two people killed in an overnight fire on Bromsgrove Road near Winston Churchill Boulevard. The other deceased, an adult male, has not been identified. Two other occupants were hurt in the blaze, including one who remains in hospital.
Residents told the Star that Kret lived in the townhouse with at least two of her adult children and another roommate. Property records show Kret purchased the townhouse in October 1985.
Jim Gillespie, a fire investigator with the Office of the Fire Marshal, said Tuesday afternoon there was nothing to indicate the fire was suspicious. Earlier, Mississauga fire officials said the blaze appeared to be suspicious.
“We won’t know until we’re completely done,” Gillespie told reporters at the scene.
He said the fire started in the living room and spread to the rest of the main floor and part of the basement. The smoke also caused visible damage to the upper floor. So far, no evidence suggests the smoke alarms were working — a finding Gillespie says is too common in fatal fires.
Firefighters found heavy smoke and flames at the house when they responded to the scene around 3 a.m., Mississauga Fire Platoon Chief Luigi Davoli said.
A man and woman were found without vital signs on the second floor of the home. They were both rushed to hospital, where they died.
Two other occupants — a man and a woman — were able to flee from the burning home and were transported to hospital. The man has minor injuries, while the woman suffered severe burns and remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A dog and cat also died in the blaze, according to police.
A retired school attendant with the Peel District School Board, Kret was a mother to four and a grandmother. One of her children died a few years ago, and her husband, Walter, died in 2009.