FATHER DISTRAUGHT OVER LOSS OF ‘REALLY GREAT KID’; MOM, TEENAGE SON DIE IN WEEKEND BLAZE IN POINTE CLAIRE
by CHERYL CORNACCHIA
The Gazette
November 9, 2011 Wednesday
Montreal
Final Edition
The father of a 14-year-old boy who perished over the weekend in a
Pointe Claire apartment fire said he is touched by the outpouring of
love and support now being expressed by friends and fellow students
of his son, many of whom arrived at St. Thomas High School on Monday
morning with black armbands.
Razmig Soukiassian, a Secondary 2 student at the Pointe Claire high
school, and his mother, Carolin Boghosian, died early Saturday morning
when fire engulfed several units and the roof of a three-storey
apartment building on St. Jean Blvd. near the corner of Douglas
Shand Ave.
Eleven-year-old Raffi Soukiassian, Razmig’s younger brother and a
student at Beacon Hill Elementary, was rescued from a smoke-filled
corridor outside the apartment unit that the boys’ mother rented
since she and the boys’ father divorced in 2006.
“You know when they get to that age you don’t know all of their
friends,” Gary Soukiassian, the boys’ father, said Monday morning.
“When I visited the apartment building yesterday, a mother and daughter
came up and were hugging me.
“They told me that the kids had all texted one another, and they
would be wearing black armbands to school Monday.
“Raz was a very popular person,” the father said, his voice choking
back tears.
He explained he had full custody of the boys but they visited their
mother every Wednesday as well as every other weekend. He said what
was especially difficult was the fact his son had asked to forgo last
weekend’s visit to his mother because he had stuff he wanted to do
at his Kirkland home.
He ended up going because his mother had planned a 14th birthday
party for him.
Several media reports indicated birthday candles may have caused the
fatal early morning blaze. However, police officials were unable to
confirm that report.
“The cause is still undetermined at this moment,” said Montreal police
Constable Raphael Bergeron on Tuesday.
Bergeron said the investigation is being carried out by the police
department’s arson squad. One of the problems, he added, is that
there is little physical evidence. Investigators are still conducting
interviews with apartment building residents.
Razmig Soukiassian or “Raz” as he was known to his friends played with
the Lakeshore Soccer Club and was a longtime member of the Armenian
General Benevolent Union’s youth scouts. A Facebook tribute page
that was created over the weekend, R.I.P. Razmig Soukiassian, was
“liked” by close to 1,000 people by Monday morning. The page was
filled with heartfelt messages to “an amazing boy,” “a role model”
and “a good scout.”
The young boy’s funeral will take place at St. Gregory Illuminator
Armenian Church, 615 Stuart Ave., Outremont. But arrangements will
only be finalized after the coroner’s investigation and autopsy
are complete.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
