Residents at two neighbouring apartment complexes in Thorncliffe Park remain displaced as fire crews continue to fight what Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop called “an unprecedented and extremely challenging fire.”
The five-alarm fire broke out last Thursday afternoon at 11 Thorncliffe Park, and eventually spread to a neighbouring building at 21 Overlea Boulevard.
High carbon monoxide levels were detected, prompting both buildings to be evacuated.
In an update on Wednesday, Jessop confirmed the fire, which is contained in a tight space between the two buildings, continues to burn almost a week after it started.
“Despite continuous efforts, it remains active,” Jessop said. “The fire is burning deep inside a narrow gap where the two buildings meet. This space is so tight, between 25 and 50 millimetres, that firefighters cannot directly access it.”
That means they’ve had to punch holes in the walls of some units, and even use garden hoses instead of much thicker firefighting hoses in order to access the narrow passage, the Chief said.
Jessop noted that the gap between buildings is filled with compressed wood material which burns slowly “making progress extremely difficult.”
“We have never in the history of the Toronto Fire Service experienced a fire like this,” he stressed.
“I’m going to be very honest, we have water damage throughout the buildings…and in those units that we are trying to access this material to extinguish, there will be damage to walls, there will be holes in walls.”
“There is absolutely going to be damage to the units,” he added.
Jessop couldn’t predict when the fire will be fully doused, or when residents can expect to be back in their units.
“Our top priority remains clear: Getting people back into their homes whenever it is safe to do so,” he said.
With that in mind, Jessop said the buildings will remain evacuated until further notice, with firefighting operations expected to continue at least into next week.
“We understand this is hard to hear for those impacted,” he empathized.
“We know residents are eager to return home and we share that urgency, but safety comes first.”
Once the fire is out, a team of engineers will have to assess the building to determine if it’s safe for residents.
Part of that assessment will include tests for toxins, infrastructure integrity, and safety system effectiveness.
It’s not clear how long that process will take.
In the meantime nearly 400 residents are living out of hotels.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Anne Marie Thomas urged all affected residents to contact their respective insurance providers to inquire about their coverage.
In the meantime, it’s still not yet clear how the fire started.
Jessop said the investigation could take months to complete.
