Sask. small town reeling after house fire kills 2 seniors and 3 children

A Saskatchewan town of around 1,100 people is reeling after a house fire killed two seniors and three children.

Craik RCMP responded around noon CST on Sunday to a fire on Ottawa Street in Davidson, Sask., about 110 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon. The Davidson Volunteer Fire Department was already there when the Mounties arrived, according to an RCMP news release.

An 80-year-old man and an 81-year-old woman were removed from the house and brought to Davidson Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, police said. The remains of the three children were found after the fire was put out.

Neighbour Diane Taylor said she saw flames billowing from the roof of the home, where she had previously often seen a mother, a father and three boys.

"They biked on the sidewalks. They were great kids. They were very charismatic and very, very nice kids," Taylor said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "I don't think I've ever been so upset."

Police cordoned off the charred remains of the home with yellow tape.  A swing set could be seen in the yard. A sign saying, "Our dogs live here," was posted on the back gate.

RCMP said late Monday afternoon that the fire was not suspicious and the police investigation had concluded. Police have not released the ages of the three children. Autopsies for all five of the dead are expected to take place later this week. 

"It's devastating," Larry Packet, who runs a coffee shop and catering business in Davidson, told The Canadian Press.

Packet said the dead seniors were the children's grandparents. He said the grandparents were not from Davidson and were taking care of the children while the parents were out of town.

"I can't imagine what the parents are going through, and to lose the mother and father also," he said.

Packet said the parents had moved to the town about four years ago and ran a successful business. They were loving and kind, and fit easily into the close-knit community, he said.

Elaine Ebenal, Davidson's mayor, said the whole community is devastated by the deaths.

"Our hearts go out to the family," she said.

The mayor said she is also thinking of the local firefighters who were first on the scene.