A four-alarm fire in Toronto’s west end sent four residents to the hospital, one of them in life-threatening condition, on Saturday morning.
A spokesperson for Toronto Fire told Global News that crews received the call around 6:15 a.m. for a fire in a three-story apartment building at the intersection of Shaw and Leeds streets, just north of Bloor Street. West.
Toronto police tweeted that black smoke and flames were seen coming from the apartment building’s roof.
Later that morning, the roof collapsed, police said.
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Toronto paramedics told Global News that one person was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition. Three others were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Later that morning, Acting Fire Chief Jim Jessop confirmed that a total of eleven residents had been evacuated.
“The building right now is going to be uninhabitable, so there are going to be dozens of people that are going to be displaced,” the Chief said.
Jessop added that cold weather conditions have made this response difficult.
“On the coldest day of the year, obviously the weather is having an impact on our crews and our equipment,” he said.
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“Our hoses are freezing. Obviously the physical toll it takes on the women and men of our crews right now. It is a very challenging day, but we are cycling our teams.”
On January 4, crews responded to a fire in this same residential building, Toronto Fire confirmed with Global News. In that case, the fire was quickly put out.
At this time, the cause of Saturday’s fire is unknown.
The TTC and the Canadian Red Cross were called in to help provide shelter, police said, and roads in the area were closed for the investigation.
Both the fire on Saturday and the one on January 4 will be part of a comprehensive investigation, a Toronto Fire spokesman said.
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Reference-globalnews.ca