Nearly 100 firefighters are working to contain a two-alarm fire that has engulfed an old church on Dufferin Street, just north of Bloor Street West.
Emergency crews were called to 1183 Dufferin Street at around 3 p.m. as flames consumed the more than 100-year-old building.
Officials say there were no reported injuries and no one was in the building at the time of the fire.
Fire crews have been battling the blaze for more than three hours and continue to pour water onto the structure using two aerial ladders.
“Before they put up the cranes, there were just wisps of smoke coming up and it wasn’t big flames, but within about 15 minutes, the flames were at the front of the roof,” local resident Keith Thirkell told CTV Toronto.
Toronto EMS say houses in the area have been evacuated as a precaution and fire officials have asked residents in the area to keep their windows closed.
Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Eric Cotter says crews are working to contain the blaze and prevent damage to nearby homes.
“Our main concern right now is containment and preventing it exposing to the buildings to the north and the south, those are occupied residential structures,” he said.
The former Dufferin Presbyterian Church, which is listed as a Heritage Property on the City of Toronto website, was undergoing renovations at the time of the blaze.
The church, which was first built in 1912, was scheduled to be converted into loft condominiums.
Cotter says the fire had already fully engulfed the church by the time crews had arrived on the scene and noted that the size and age of the church meant that the fire spread quickly.
“Churches generally tend to go up fairly quickly, especially older ones,” he said.
“They’re not usually sprinklered, they’re usually wood construction, heavy timber and wide open spaces – perfect for a fire.”
He says it may take several hours before the blaze is fully contained.
“It’s probably going to be a drawn-out incident. We’re probably going to be here for another five or six hours to extinguish it.”
Officials have closed off Dufferin Street in both directions as officials from the Fire Marshall work to determine the cause of the blaze.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Scott Lightfoot.
