Halifax couple thanks public a year after house fire claimed their 7 children

HALIFAX – The parents of seven children who died in a Halifax house fire a year ago are offering thanks to the public for the love and support they’ve received since the tragedy.

Syrian refugees Ebraheim and Kawthar Barho survived the fire that destroyed their rental home in the Halifax suburb of Spryfield on Feb. 19, 2019.

The couple’s seven children, who ranged in age from three months to their mid-teens, perished inside the home.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Barho family describes their loss as “immense” and say they miss their children every day.

The couple says they have managed to find comfort in the kindness of strangers, the courage of first responders and in the dedication of health-care professionals.

Investigators in Halifax have yet to identify a cause for the fire.

In an update given last September, investigators said they were only able to determine that the fire began at the back of the house in the main-floor living room near a couch.

Nothing was found to lead them to believe the fire was suspicious, and they ruled out smoking materials, kitchen activities and electrical faults as possible causes.

The Canadian Press