A Toronto fire captain critically injured while battling a three-alarm blaze at a vacant downtown building earlier this month is out of intensive care.
In a statement issued on Monday, Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Peg said that Capt. James Warren has been released from the intensive care unit at St. Michael’s Hospital.
“(He) will continue to recover from his injuries in hospital before completing his recovery at home,” he said.
Warren was one of two firefighters who fell from the roof of a burning building near Jarvis and Shuter streets on the morning of Nov. 2.
The two firefighters were on the roof trying to ventilate the building when they fell.
“They were... trying to cut holes in the roof to release the hot gases and smoke, which is normal practice for any fire,” Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop said at the time.
“But there was a significant volume of smoke and the firefighters thought they were stepping off onto a ledge and unfortunately there was no ledge. They ended up falling down well over three storeys.”
Both were transported to a trauma centre for treatment.
Firefighter Terry Leimonis suffered a broken leg and was later released from the hospital, but Warren’s injuries were “substantial.” He spent more than a week in the intensive care unit at St. Michael’s Hospital.
Investigators determined that the fire at 85 Shuter Street had been caused by arson.
Last week, police released a composite image of a man seen leaving the building. They are asking anyone with information about his identity to contact investigators or reach out to Crime Stoppers anonymously.
