Nearly 48 hours following a fire that claimed the lives of three people, on Christmas Eve, in Saint-Basile, in the county of Portneuf, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) revealed the identity of the victims.
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The blaze began around 4:30 a.m. Saturday in a triplex on rang Sainte-Angélique, according to the SQ. The flames are said to have started in the third floor accommodation, where a woman was found unresponsive.
This is Vanessa Pelletier, 36 years old. Resuscitation maneuvers were carried out, but he was pronounced dead in hospital. The body of Anthony Biasotto, 32, was also found. According to information available on Facebook, it would be her spouse. A 5-year-old boy also lost his life. The SQ did not reveal the identity of the child.
SQ spokesperson Stéphane Tremblay said the tragedy would not be of a criminal nature.
“On the face of it, there doesn’t appear to be any criminal elements,” he said. However, the cause is still undetermined.
It was determined that there was no electricity in the area at the time of the tragedy.
Several relatives of Vanessa Pelletier paid tribute to her on Facebook in the hours following the tragedy.
“Rest in peace my beautiful Van. A woman sparkling with life,” wrote a friend.
“I love you my little sister [cœur] as we have always been called! Your smiles your madness your joie de vivre and your character [vont] miss many of us! […] She leaves a devastated family,” wrote another relative.
A crowdfunding campaign launched on the platform GoFundMe to raise funds for the deceased child’s father was posted on social media.
The goal was to raise $25,000 to support the bereaved father and the brother of the young victim. Monday followingnoon, a sum of $24,000 had already been raised, thanks to more than 200 donations. The Christmas spirit visibly inspired some people, as an anonymous donor donated $10,000.
