Family mourns loss of grandparents who died in north Edmonton fire

An Edmonton man whose grandparents died in a fire at an apartment building on the city’s north side earlier this week said he wants them to be remembered for who they were and not for what happened to them. 

“They didn’t deserve that at all,” Lali Toor told CBC News on Wednesday as he spoke about his late grandfather, 85-year-old Major Singh Bhandal, and his late grandmother, 82-year-old Surinderjit Kaur Bhandal. “They’re very good people.”

Earlier this week, police confirmed an 85-year-old man died after jumping from a third-floor balcony in an attempt to escape the flames.  On Wednesday, they confirmed the man’s wife also died in the fire.

The fire broke out at about 9:15 p.m. on Monday after a vehicle crashed into an apartment building in the area of 82nd Street and 131st Avenue, and ruptured a gas line. Police said that resulted in an explosion and fire at the building. The building has businesses on the main floor and two floors of apartment units above that.

“When I started seeing the media of the elderly man jumping, that wasn’t just an elderly man — that was my grandfather,” Toor said. “That was Major Singh.” 

Toor said his grandfather was a big figure in his life and that much of his personality was shaped by him. 

Major Singh Bhandal had worked as a farmer in his home village in India, and Toor described him as a giving person and an active member of the Sikh community in Edmonton. 

Toor described his grandmother as an educated woman born in Mumbai who would always speak with him about politics

He said his grandparents were deeply in love, even after being married for over 60 years.

“My grandfather would still drive his car at the age of 85 [and] would take my grandmother anywhere she needs to go,” said Toor. “You would never see one without the other. They were best friends. … Their love was incredible.

“I think that’s what we should remember them as, as a couple that stood the test of time.”

Toor said the couple moved to Canada from India 30 years ago and had lived in their north Edmonton apartment the entire time.

‘I was in panic mode’ 

Toor said he was having dinner with his in-laws on Monday when he heard about the fire. He said he recognized the scene from a photo his wife had sent him of the fire as his grandparents’ neighbourhood and decided to drive there to see what was going on.

“Words can’t describe what I saw, just the amount of flames, the chaos. I was in panic mode,” said Toor. 

When he arrived at the scene, Toor said he saw his grandfather surrounded by first responders attempting to perform CPR on him. 

“At the time, I didn’t comprehend what was going on — if it was him or not — because I was just panicking.”

Toor said his grandfather died at the scene and that he was told his grandmother’s body was found in her apartment the next day. 

“It’s just been so devastating for our family,” said Toor. “We spent the rest of the night trying to figure out what was happening.”

Toor said the loss has been especially felt by his mother, who he said was very close with her parents. 

He said the community has come together to mourn the death of his grandparents and to support the family.

The family has set up a makeshift memorial at the scene of the fire as a place where people can go and pay their respects. 

“I need to make sure they’re mourned and remembered in a certain way, not just as these people we don’t know, without names,” Toor said. 

Police said Wednesday that a resident of the apartment building that had been unaccounted for has been located and is safe. 

Six people were sent to hospital as a result of the fire. Police said the 62-year-old man who was driving the vehicle that hit the building was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said they continue to work with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services to investigate the events that led to the fire.