Residents of a Leslieville neighbourhood awoke to explosions and a raging fire overnight, when a blaze engulfed a home under construction overnight.
The fire started at approximately 3 a.m. and took firefighters two hours to get under control. Two other homes were damaged when the fire spread from a three-storey house at 12 Minto St.
Neighbours who heard explosion noises called 911, then went door-to-door to warn those living in the area, as the fire quickly spread to trees.
Toronto Fire officials said the flames breached a firewall on the east side of 12 Minto St., spreading to 10 and 14 Minto St.
Seventeen fire trucks were on scene at the peak of the blaze.
Albert Skinner, an elderly resident in the area, was awoken by a commotion near his home early Thursday morning.
“I just happened to look out and I saw the brightness,” Skinner told CTV Toronto.
Fire crews quickly arrived at the scene and rescued Skinner.
“They took me through the backyard, that’s when I felt a couple cinders on my back,” Skinner said.
While no one was injured in the blaze, fire officials say several homes were damaged by the fire.
Though most of the damage was contained to the houses at 10, 12 and 14 Minto St., the heat of the flames was enough to melt the siding on the house across the street, firefighters said.
The Ontario Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of a fire, and damage was estimated at more than $500,000. Toronto police said they are also investigating the fire, which they have called suspicious.
CTV Toronto obtained security footage from the area that shows two people walking through a dark alley in the direction of the now-destroyed homes at approximately 2 a.m.
At around 3 a.m., one person is seen returning back to the alley with another individual, who is seen riding a bicycle.
Patricia Martyn, a local resident, said she saw several individuals in the area right before before the fire broke out.
“I did wake up earlier in the night and saw some folks who didn’t strike me as familiar and then this happened,” Martyn told CTV Toronto.
