One person dead after apartment fire in Toronto’s east end
A person is dead after a fire erupted in an apartment in the city’s east end Saturday morning.
Fire crews responded to a blaze at an apartment building on Victoria Park Avenue, near O'Connor Drive, at around 8:10 a.m.
Crews said the fire was in a unit on the eight floor.
When crews arrived at the scene they were met with heavy smoke and had to force entry into the unit.
“Our crews conducted their primary search very quickly and knocked the fire down, and unfortunately during the primary search we did discover one occupant that was obviously deceased,” Toronto Fire Deputy Chief Jim Jessop said at the scene.
The victim’s identity has not been released but neighbours tell CP24 that a woman lived alone in the unit.
"It's very sad. I knew her well and she was a great person. She always sat and talked to everybody and laughed with everybody. She was really a great person and it's very sad to see her go like that," neighbour Sharon Knapp told CP24.
Officials said the fire was quickly extinguished and no other units were affected.
Jessop noted that surrounding fire alarms did go off to alert nearby residents.
Another neighbour, who identified himself as Larry, lives three doors down from the affected unit and said he saw heavy smoke in the hallway while evacuating the building.
“The alarm went on, opened the door and then I saw smoke so I took the stairwell down cause it’s right on the end,” he said. “Just from the whiff of the smoke it was bad.”
Jessop said the heavy smoke caused more damage to the unit than the actual fire.
“The smoke was significant, heavy smoke conditions that started to migrate through the building. So our crews did a great job, you know, ventilating it out and making sure that it did not contaminate the rest of the building,” he said.
The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate the cause of the blaze.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.