A fire at Richmond Hill condo forced dozens of people out into the cold Friday night.
The fire, which sent flames shooting out from a fourth floor unit, broke out around 5:45 p.m. at 30 Harding Boulevard, located in the area of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive.
It was a harrowing escape for some seniors looking for the right stairwell or getting down several flights of steps.
“There was a lot of smoke as the police knocked on my door and told me to evacuate. I could see a lot of smoke coming up the stairwell,” Carole Celsie said.
Residents said many of the people who live at the building are older. Ajai Kumar is legally blind. His unit is on a higher floor and he struggled to get down the stairs.
“I, by mistake, opened the fourth floor and it just hit me like the smoke and the heat, and I said oh my God, this is serious,” Kumar said.
Kumar said a firefighter helped him after that. He and others who got out of the building stayed in buses to keep warm while crews put out the fire and paramedics helped people suffering from smoke inhalation.
Richmond Hill Fire and Emergency Services said the woman in the unit where the fire began got out safely.
Fire Chief Steve Kraft told CTV News Toronto two residents suffered minor smoke inhalation and a firefighter sustained a minor leg injury. All three were sent to hospital.
“It was high heat, a lot of thick black smoke, heavy fire so those are tough conditions for firefighters,” said Kraft.
Kraft said it takes time to hook up the water supply and find the fire, but crews knocked it down out fairly quickly.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Kraft said that it appears the condominium unit where the fire originated is severely damaged. The other units were spared.
