1 dead, 3 hurt in house fire

Photo: The Canadian Press

One person is dead and three others presumed to be from the same family are missing following an early morning house fire in Port Colborne, Ont.

Firefighters were called to the two-storey home in the Lake Erie community south of Welland around 1:20 a.m.

Niagara Regional police Const. Phil Gavin says emergency responders are working on the belief that the three missing are inside the house and part of the same family.

He says said the home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters went inside in a rescue attempt.

They were able to remove one person before the house became structurally unsafe, he said, but rescuers could not save the person's life.

Gavin said the age and gender of the deceased victim would not be released until next of kin are notified.

By Wednesday morning the fire had been extinguished, but the home remained unsafe to enter, Gavin said.

"Right now, the entire roof has collapsed into the residence and it burned for a little while so it's certainly a concern whether it's safe to put people in there," Gavin said.

Gavin said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire and that the Ontario Fire Marshal's office is on scene investigating as well as the coroner.