The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called to investigate an early-morning fire in Scarborough that sent five people to hospital, three of them suffering life-threatening injuries.
Fire crews were called to a burning house on Canlish Road, near Birchmount Road and Lawrence Avenue East, at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Around that time, one neighbour told CTV Toronto he was startled by what sounded like an explosion.
"I was watching TV and I heard a noise, like a boom," he said.
Another neighbour said she heard a commotion and ran to help, even before emergency crews arrived.
"We went banging on the doors to make sure there was nobody in the homes, and when we got here, there was a younger gentleman with a baby. I grabbed the baby and the other guy was trying to break the windows open to make sure there was nobody else in," she said. "There was three other people inside."
When emergency personnel arrived, they found the house and a cube van parked on the driveway in flames.
Three people were rescued from the burning home, and rushed to hospital in critical condition.
Another four residents of the home -- including a pregnant woman and a 22-month-old toddler also taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries -- were outside the burning building when crews arrived.
Flames spread to a neighbouring home, too.
The fire was brought under control within an hour.
Investigators are looking into whether the fire started in the recently purchased cube van's engine before spreading to the residence.
With files from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney
