There is no timeline for residents to return to their homes after a five-alarm fire forced the evacuation of neighbouring buildings in Thorncliffe Park.
“The fire is still burning behind the walls,” said Acting Division Commander Rob Hewson in an update on Saturday morning. “I would describe it as a smouldering fire in a tight, confined space.”
Hewson noted that access to the fire remains an ongoing concern, saying the fire is “pressed” between two high-rise walls.
“It’s unusual in the fact that this type of firefight, we are used to visualizing how far we’re getting. This way, we’re using monitoring of heat and air quality to determine our progress. The other thing that’s quite different is the access to it. Where we use large quantities of water to put out fire, this limits us to access points where we can put specific amounts of water in,” explained Hewson.
Firefighters were first called to a fire at 11 Thorncliffe Park Boulevard around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The blaze then spread to the building at 21 Overlea Boulevard.
Residents in more than 400 units were forced from their homes due to high levels of carbon monoxide as crews battled the stubborn blaze.
“We’ve been monitoring heat levels and air quality for CO levels throughout the day. Our progress is going in the direction we want, however, very slowly,” said Hewson, noting that carbon monoxide levels have continued to go down over the last 12 hours.
Officials have called this one of the more complex fire situations the city has faced in recent years. Hewson said they could not provide a timeline for residents to return home, stating that it could be hours or even days before the fire is fully extinguished.
“We’re thinking about the residents …We thank them for their patience. We don’t have answers for them at this time. It’s their safety that we’re taking this much precaution, and there’s no timeline attached to it, unfortunately,” he said.
Crews are expected to remain on site until the fire is fully extinguished and will stay for no less than 24 hours afterward to ensure carbon monoxide levels return to zero.
The fire is believed to have started in the building’s underground parking structure before making its way up, but the exact cause and origin of the blaze remains under investigation.
