Ontario invests $11M for new addition to Toronto school destroyed in 6-alarm fire

Ontario is investing $11 million to construct an addition to York Memorial Collegiate Institute, a Toronto-area school that was gutted in a six-alarm fire more than two years ago.

The funding was announced on Monday afternoon by Education Minister Stephen Lecce at a virtual news conference and is intended to be used to build a "ministry-funded addition as well as upgrades and improvements to the school."

Any renovations related to the fire will be funded by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

"Along with this board's planned upgrades and improvements to restore this school, this new addition and this investment by the province with the school board will create 368 new student spaces for a total now of 1,300 spaces for students, " Lecce said.

A fire broke out at the school, located near Keel Street and Eglinton Avenue, around 2 p.m. on May 8, 2019. Toronto Fire said the blaze had been contained around 4 p.m., however at 3:30 a.m. crews detected a flare up.

A few hours later, heavy smoke and flames could be seen shooting from the building. By 10 a.m., the fire had escalated to a six-alarm response that required about 150 firefighters on scene.

Crews battle a five-alarm fire at York Memorial Collegiate Institute Tuesday May 7, 2019. (Mike Nguyen /CP24)

The main body of the fire was mostly contained to the auditorium, officials said at the time, but the 90-year-old building sustained extensive water and smoke damage.

• IN PHOTOS: What York Memorial C.I. looked like before the fire

The fire was ruled accidental in August 2019, although officials said they “were unable to isolate an ignition source.”

When asked on Monday what the total price tag for the renovations would be, the TDSB said the "total value is still being determined."

Firefighters work on fire that broke out at York Memorial Collegiate Institute in Toronto on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin)

The roughly 880 students who attended York Memorial CI were originally relocated to George Harvey Collegiate Institute, near Eglinton Avenue and Keele Street, following the fire, and have since settled at the site of the former Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy, located near Royal York Road and Eglinton Avenue.

However, students will have to move back to George Harvey in September due to what the TDSB described as "logistical reasons."

Some students who spoke to CTV News Toronto about the announcement said they were excited to finally have a school to call their own while others expressed anxiety about another move.

"We built everything ready and having to move back to [George] Harvey is not good," said one student.

The TDSB said it hopes to reopen the school to students in 2026.