Funeral services for Guyanese carbon monoxide victims on Sunday

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, March 23 for the Guyanese couple and their son killed by suspected carbon monoxide poisoning this week in Brampton, Ontario, according to the Brampton Guardian.

The service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Brampton Crematorium and Visitation Centre, 30 Bramwin Crt. Visitation takes place Saturday (March 22), 4 to 9 p.m. at the crematorium and throughout Sunday, according to notices posted on the crematorium’s website, the newspaper said.

Peter Pitamber, 60, who has owned the Calypso Hut on Queen Street East at Rutherford Road for 20 years, his wife Seeta, 59, and the elder of two sons Terry, 36, were found dead in their Linden Crescent bungalow by younger son Jerry, 29 around 2 a.m. Monday.

A photo of Peter Pitamber in a tribute on the bar of Calypso Hut, the restaurant he ran for over 20 years. (Brampton Guardian photo)
A photo of Peter Pitamber in a tribute on the bar of Calypso Hut, the restaurant he ran for over 20 years. (Brampton Guardian photo)

Peter’s brother Paul, 56, and a 66-year-old family friend were sleeping in the basement. They survived.

The Brampton Guardian says the tragedy has spark-ed widespread warnings about the dangers of carbon monoxide and the importance of carbon monoxide detectors.

The family had one detector, but it was located in the basement.

Brampton’s bylaw calls for one detector per home, but city officials and firefighters stress that carbon monoxide alarms must be installed outside sleeping areas.

“I’ve got a lot of family support, so I’m just looking at it from the bright side of things,”  Jerry Pitamber, told the Toronto Sun. “We’re just doing prayers right now. My parents were Hindu, but we weren’t really religious. It’s a first for me.”

He said friends and family have been gathering at the Pitamber’s restaurant — at Queen St. E. and Rutherford Rd. — since Monday. “My parents were always at that restaurant — they spent more time here than they did at the house,” said Pitamber.