Brampton brothers who died in housefire identified; GoFundMe tops $100,000
Published January 21, 2022 at 9:23 pm
Fifteen-year-old Coen, 12-year-old Riley and nine-year-old Alex Bagan-Overholt were the brothers who died in a housefire in Brampton on Thursday.
The siblings’ identities were confirmed through a statement issued on behalf of the family by Malton Moms this evening (Jan. 21). Coen, Riley and Alex, who were enrolled in online learning, were home in their family’s townhouse complex on Ellis Drive near Torbram Road and Clark Dr. shortly after 9 a.m. yesterday when the fire erupted.
One of the Bagan-Overholt boys managed to call 9-1-1. However, their home was fully engulfed in flames and smokes by the time that emergency crews arrived six minutes later.
Their mother, Heather Bagan, returned home after taking her five-year-old son Nate to daycare to find her home ablaze. Alex, Coen and Riley were pulled from the blaze from firefighters, but succumbed to their injuries at the hospital.
Along with their mum and younger brother, the boys are survived by a 21-year-old sister, whom media reports have referred to only as Taylor.
3 Brampton brothers that died in house fire on Thursday remembered as ‘incredibly kind and always caring’. The three were identified as Alex Bagan-Overholt, 9, Riley Bagan-Overholt, 12, and Coen Bagan-Overholt, 15.#Brampton#bramptonfire pic.twitter.com/wfnwXhskXA
— kultaran Singh Padhiana (@KPadhiana) January 22, 2022
Fundraiser
The GoFundMe campaign that Malton Moms created to help Heather Bagan with rehousing, funeral costs with food has more than quadrupled its original goal. As of 9 p.m. tonight, it sat at $103,941. Originally, the target amount was set at $25,000, then doubled to $50Gs after a rapid outpouring of support.
Some 1,500 people have donated. The largest donation, $2,000, came from a person who has chosen to remain anonymous.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told inSauga on Thursday that Peel Regional Police have made resources available to the victims’ family. Brown said he also gave Heather Began his personal number “to let them know that “the City of Brampton is a family and we’ll be there for them.”
The Peel District School Board has been offering mental health support to the students and staff at Judith Nyman Secondary School, Earnscliffe Senior Public School and Eastbourne Drive Public School.
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The Ontario fire marshal’s office will work to determine the cause, origin, and circumstance of the blaze.
To fundraiser remains open and can be supported at the Malton Moms GoFundMe page.
(Cover photo via GoFundMe/Malton Moms.)
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