Several homes in the Beaches area of Toronto were evacuated after it was reported that a section of a semi-detached house might collapse.
The risk of collapse was reported shortly before 12:30 p.m. on Monday, at a home on Corley Avenue. The home is in the area of Kingston Road and Woodbine Avenue.
Few details have been provided, but a large crack in the brick wall could be seen from the CTV News chopper. A section of the back wall could be seen lying on the ground nearby.
The home was undergoing renovations when the crack formed. The company doing the work would not answer questions about the incident.
“They were going to raise the basement ceiling,” said Bill Watt, one of the neighbours. “They were lowering the house down onto the new foundation and the wall cracked on the side.”
The contractors were inside the home when the incident occurred, but no one was injured.
Police said the building was deemed unsafe and was evacuated. They said neighbouring homes were also likely to be evacuated as a precaution.
Vincent Tsang, another neighbour, said he was out with his family when he got the call to return home.
“We wanted to grab the essentials…because we don’t want to go back in the house,” he said.
Crews will remain on the scene overnight in case of further damage. There are concerns that the weight of Monday night’s heavy snowfall may cause the house to collapse.
On Tuesday, crews will build a fence around the property while they figure out how to make the area safe again.
Until then, Tsang and other neighbours will have to find other places to stay.
Structural engineers from both the city and the contracting company are now on site. The Ministry of Labour has been also notified of the incident.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Zuraidah Alman
