Two families escaped an early morning fire in the city's east-end that caused thousands of dollars in damage on Sunday.
The fire broke out in the attic of a home on Bellamy Road and Lawrence Avenue just before 7 a.m.
According to Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Reid Page, the homeowner woke up to a "strange" cracking noise and went outside to see heavy smoke coming from the roof.
"I saw smoke was coming out of the attic," Farid Ahmed, the homeowner said, adding that he called 911 right away.
The homeowner was able to get all seven people, including three children, out of the house.
The fire caused approximately $50,000 in damage to the home. Fire crews had to pull down some of the ceiling to access the attic.
Page said that the families were lucky to be alive.
"It appeared that the fire had been burning for quite some time," Page said. "There was heavy charring on the beams."
Page said that the house had working smoke detectors but the alarms didn't go off because the smoke was in the attic.
