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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."