Toronto police say a worker who sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of an accident involving “extremely hot” tar is expected to survive.

It happened at around 7:37 a.m. Monday near Danforth and Logan avenues.

According to Toronto police Const. Clint Stibbe, a male worker was inside a truck that was carrying hot tar. The problems appear to have started when the blow torch at the front of the truck came loose.

"The driver of the vehicle brought the truck to a stop and the load of tar inside shifted forward, splashing onto the occupant that was in the back of the vehicle," Stibbe said. "Following that, there was tar spilled in the vehicle which unfortunately coated the person that was inside."

Firefighters were forced to cut the truck open in order to extricate the victim from the tar, which had begun to harden around him. He was freed from the tar just after 9 a.m.

Though paramedics consider the man's injuries to be life-threatening, Stibbe said the man was conscious and speaking to firefighters during the extrication.

The 46-year-old victim was rushed to Sunnybrook Hospital's burn unit where he remains in critical condition.

In a tweet by Toronto police at around 10:30 a.m., police said the man is expected to survive. They said the worker's protective suit prevented him from sustaining worse injuries.


"I get upset just thinking about it," said Frank Dwyer, a witness who was on the scene first.

He heard screams from his home up the street and came running, he told CTV Toronto.

"I thought it was a girl crying because his pitch was so sharp, you know? He was really, really hurting," Dwyer said.

Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Dave Denysek called the incident a "very unusual event."

"We took out the side of the truck to gain better access and we suspended some straps from the top to support the victim as we cut him free. He was encased in tar. As time was going by, it actually started to solidify around him," Denysek said.

"I've never seen something of this nature. Obviously we have had scalded injuries from tar but this patient was actually encased in it, which again, involved significant efforts."

The tar would have been about 400 degrees when it touched the victim’s body.

"Obviously as it (tar) cools it becomes hardened and it becomes something that will encase that individual and keep them in place, and now they have to be removed from that tar because it has obviously cooled," Stibbe said.

"He was just yelling and screaming and crying and in terrible pain," Dwyer told CTV Toronto. "His eyes, his face, his hair, everything was covered in oil. I mean it's crazy. I mean if you wanted to torture somebody, you'd drop him in hot oil, right? And that's sort of what happened to him."

According to Denysek, a total of 18 firefighters were involved in the extrication.

Roads in the area were closed for a police investigation.

The Ministry of Labour has also be called in to investigate the incident.