A 10-year-old boy is dead and an estimated 80 to 100 people have lost their homes after a fire broke out at a townhouse complex in Brampton early Sunday morning, police and firefighters say.

Officials said the boy, identified by police as Nicolas Gabriel, was visiting a family for a sleepover and he was reported missing after everyone escaped the burning complex and they were unable to find him.

Firefighters found Gabriel's body as they extinguished hotspots and did a sweep through the gutted complex.

“A fun-loving boy”

Speaking with CP24 Sunday evening, the boy’s mother Kelly Gabriel said the family is devastated by the loss.

“He was a fun-loving boy. He loved his video games. He always had to play his Playstation after school,” Kelly Gabriel said. “He was my baby.”

She described her son as a boy who loved to play with his friends and to go for sleepovers.

She also thanked the community for the outpouring of support following the tragedy.

“I can’t ask for my son back. All I can ask is for everyone to pray for us,” she said.

She said funeral arrangements have not been made so far.

Dozens left homeless

While officials investigate the cause of the blaze, a major effort is underway to assist the residents who have been displaced. They are in need of shelter, food, clothing and other essential items, and they were inundated with donations within hours of the tragedy.

“These people had to leave their homes basically with the clothing they were wearing at the time,” Fitzpatrick said. “There is definitely going to be a need for clothing and personal toiletries, items like that.”

Several community groups or well-known organizations, including the Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army, are offering help. Donations can be dropped off at the Chris Gibson Recreation Centre at 125 McLaughlin Rd. N.

A trust fund has been set up for Gabriel's family.

As many as 300 people wearing pajamas or light clothing were forced to leave the complex on Ardglen Drive, near Kennedy Road and Queen Street, when the fire broke out at about 3:15 a.m.

Resident Dylan Keast described a chaotic scene when he rushed outside with his three-year-old daughter. Many residents were still asleep inside.

Keast said he left his daughter with a woman and re-entered the building to bang on doors and alert his neighbours.

“I ran back inside and grabbed the guy whose house was on fire,” Keast told CP24. “He was still in the apartment. Me and the other guy pulled him out and we pulled a bunch of other people out of the units, they were all sleeping.”

Fitzpatrick said a townhouse unit was engulfed in flames when emergency personnel arrived and the fire spread “very quickly” to other units within the complex.

Eighteen townhouse units have been severely damaged, Fitzpatrick said.

Brampton Deputy Fire Chief Michael Clark said it appears the blaze started in a kitchen and spread along the roof line.

Clark said it was too dangerous for firefighters to enter the building, so they attacked the flames in a defensive position.

Nearly five hours after the fire, Catherine James, a displaced resident, was anxiously waiting in a parking lot to find out if her home was spared.

James told CP24 she got out of bed when she smelled smoke and she noticed an orange glow outside her window.

“I said to my fiancé, ‘We’ve got to get out of here, there’s smoke.’ Within seconds, it went up (in flames),” James said.

Before the community rallied around them, residents sought refuge on public transit buses that were brought in to provide temporary shelter, while others waited in a nearby coffee shop.

“It’s just so sad that half of these people that are in this situation may not have a home to go to,” James said. “They might have lost something but your health is still here. You’re still alive. That’s how I look at it.”

For the evacuees who still have a home to return to, it is not known when they will be allowed to go back. Fitzpatrick said it could be at least a day for some of them.

As the fire burned out of control, Peel Region paramedics transported two people to hospital – a senior who had trouble walking due to a hip issue and a woman who fell and suffered a wrist injury.

@ChrisKitching is on Twitter. For up-to-the-minute breaking news, follow @CP24 on Twitter.