It will be at least a week before Toronto has any answers on what caused a fire that tore through a historic section of its downtown core, the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office said Thursday.

Wayne Romaine, with the FMO, said there is a lot of debris and evidence to sift through and many of it has to be taken for forensics examination or has to be reviewed by engineers and laboratories.

"It's hard to determine," he said. "We're working with heavy equipment, if the weather is working with us it could take a week to 10 days.

Officials with the FMO walked through the rubble this morning evaluating the damage for the first time since a six-alarm blaze gutted an historic section of Queen Street West on Wednesday.

The fire destroyed about 14 addresses on the south side of the street, between Portland and Bathurst Streets. A number of people lost their homes and dozens are without work because of the blaze.

The area remains closed but Romaine said they hope to have the area reopened by Saturday afternoon.

"In 48 hours we will reassess the situation to see if that's viable, if we can actually do that while removing the debris we are dealing with," he said on Thursday afternoon.

The devastation continued to affect transit routes in the downtown core Thursday.

  • The Queen Street streetcar is rerouted between Shaw and Church Streets, travelling along King Street in that section
  • There are partial road closures on Bathurst and Richmond Streets

The sidewalk was reopened to pedestrians Thursday morning as work crews put up a chain-link fence to separate people from the rubble.

'Construction zone'

The street continued to look like a "construction zone" Thursday, Adrian Ratushniak, a spokesperson for Toronto Fire Services, told CTV.ca.

While spot fires were put out overnight, three fire trucks remained on the scene in case there are other fires smouldering under the layers of debris littering the street.

"It's more of a percautionary measure," he said.

Demolition crews were also on site and will spend the day consulting with the FMO on the state of the site.

"The fire marshal will determine how much of the debris needs to be taken for him to conduct his investigation," said Ratushniak.

Romaine said the FMO will spend the day meeting with Toronto Fire Services and utility companies to assess the next steps to be taken.

"We are presently trying our best working with the logistics of removing wires involving the TTC streetcar that goes through the fire site," he said. "We're working with utility companies to have power restored in some areas but shut off in others so we can work safely moving forward."

Danger

Fire crews are being mindful that many of the scorched buildings are no longer structurally sound and could potentially collapse.

"With a structure that has been impacted as much as it has been, we can say anything is possible," Ratushniak said. "It's a consideration that the buildings might not be stable."

Demolition crews might also take down parts of buildings that are deemed a danger.

Emergency crews have been on guard since they were called to the scene at 5 a.m. Wednesday to battle a fire inside the building which houses National Sound, an electronics store that has been in the area for the past 40 years.

The blaze spread within minutes and soon several of the adjacent buildings were bursting with flames.

National Sound, located at 615 Queen St. W, and other small businesses that had served the community for decades, were destroyed.

Duke's Cycle, a family owned business that had become a neighbourhood fixture since 1914, was completely flattened when the building crumbled under the fire's pressure.

"We are all a little shocked, tired and overwhelmed by the incredible scene we arrived to early this morning. Please know that everyone is safe and nobody was hurt," said a statement posted on Duke's website. "We have a great deal of work ahead of us, but rest assured, Duke's Cycle will be back."

Online tributes

On popular social networking sites like Facebook, many set up tributes to Queen Street West, posting pictures of the fire, sharing memories and sympathies.

"I was forced to sit in my apartment and watch the carnage occur in the street below me...it was awful. We live directly across from Suspect Video and it was a devastating day," said one woman in her posting. "Heartfelt sympathies go out to all of you who have lost your homes and belongings to this fire."

One person on Facebook started a group for a friend that apparently lost everything in the fire. The person said a PayPal account was being set up for people who wanted to donate funds.

A dozen people posted messages in response offering the man computers, blankets, housewares and clothes.

Police said they don't have an exact number of people who were left homeless as a result of the fire.

The Salvation Army put out a statement saying they had set up a relief centre to help people affected by the fire as well as emergency personnel on the scene.

"We have provided those displaced by the fire with a place to meet and to have something warm to eat and drink while their needs are being assessed," spokesperson Neil Leduke said in the statement.

The agency said it is working with city officials to try and determine the best way to relocate those displaced by the fire.

Some of the victims stayed with family and friends. Others were offered free accommodations at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York hotel.

The hotel offered 10 rooms for three nights free of charge with breakfast included. People also received free local calls to "call their family and friends and let them know they're okay," a spokesperson for the hotel told CTV.ca. They also received amenity kits that included toothpaste and toothbrushes.

About 19 people who have been impacted by the fire are staying at the hotel.

"Our hearts go out to those businesses and people who were affected by this," spokesperson Melanie Coates said. "We hope we could give a few nights of comfort to these people and hopefully others will catch the spirit in Toronto."

Next steps

Romaine said he hopes to have the larger fire debris removed by the end of the day.

The next step will be taking aerial shots of the scene to understand the scope of the damage. Then, witness statements will be taken from tenants who were home at the time of the fire and from emergency personnel who were the first to arrive on the scene.

"We're anxious to get in and get going," Romaine said.

In an interview with CTV Toronto, city councillor Adam Vaughan said things are being put in place to help about 60 people who lost their homes or jobs with the next steps in putting the community back together.

"We've set up trust funds with Scotia Bank across the city," he said. "We've also convened a meeting where we're going to be pulling together planning heritage and building services to talk to the building owners about how they can rebuild as quickly as possible.

"We're looking to make sure this stretch of Queen Sreet returns to normal and retains its heritage value as well as its wonderful pedestrian value."

He said while new development was already slated for the area before the fire, it will create an opportunity to rebuild an improved version of what was destroyed.

"It's an opportunity to bring a better tomorrow to this stretch of Queen without forgetting yesterday's history was pretty brilliant as well," he said.

Vaughan called the situation "extraordinarily sad."

"Some of these buildings were built in1860. We've lost some good heritage," he said.

"(The area) had its challenges recently and it was about to turn the corner. Now we just have to make sure it turns the corner."

With a report from CTV Toronto's MairiAnna Bachynsky