Video shows man dangling from balcony to escape Toronto high-rise fire
Neighbours watched in disbelief and horror as a man dangled from a Scarborough high-rise balcony, let go and dropped a storey, then caught himself on the railing below to escape the flames burning through an adjacent apartment on Saturday.
Video from a resident of West Hill Apartments on Lawrence Ave. near Kingston Rd. and shared with CTV News Toronto shows the man on the fifth floor first take what appears to be the wheel of a bike to break through the chicken wire on the balcony.
“It was like something out of a movie,” Shane Greer recalled.
A tenant of the high-rise Toronto Community Housing residence, Greer says he wasn’t sure of the danger when the fire alarm first sounded around 4 p.m. Saturday, as the alarms are often pulled as pranks in the building.
“I wasn't taking any chances,” Greer said. “I grabbed this dog, I ran like hell, down the hallway, down the stairs, out here to see how bad it was.”
Flames covered the walls of a unit on the fifth floor, and licked up the balcony to the floors above.
Ryan Richter was driving by. His partner Tiffany pulled out her phone to record the terrifying scene they were witnessing, taking the above video from the car.
“You could see like the roof, the walls, everything was engulfed in flame,” Richter said.
One resident of the building was pronounced dead at the scene. Five other residents were taken to hospital — one woman in her 60s sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg.
Firefighters are on the scene of a two-alarm fire that broke out in a unit at an apartment building near Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue East. (Simon Sheehan/CP24)
The fifth-floor hallways have been left an ashy mess. Some residents of the building say they have no working stoves, and the elevator is now out of service while Fire Marshal investigators continue to piece together what happened.
“Fire inspectors said they’ll be here for the next two days, so obviously the elevators are going to be down, probably, until Wednesday morning,” said Bianca Hubbard, who lives on the 11th floor.
“While the investigation has only just begun, any determination of cause would be premature at this stage,” Sean Driscoll with the Office of the Fire Marshal said on Sunday, “however I can confirm that the fire started in, and was isolated to, a single unit.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump returns to his campaign facing a warning of jail time if he violates a trial gag order
Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Swarm of bees delays Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles game in Arizona. An 'MVP' beekeeper came to the rescue
Major League Baseball fans had an unexpected buzz on Tuesday after a swarm of bees delayed the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game for around two hours.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 10 kilometres (six miles) alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety.
It's opening day for the $34B Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion
Wednesday marks the official start date of the long-awaited $34-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project.
Will an 'out of sight, out of mind' cellphone policy make a difference in Ontario schools?
Ontario’s cellphone ban in schools has been met with mixed reaction, with some teachers concerned about constant policing of kids and experts applauding the change as necessary for student learning.