Two people have died in a basement apartment fire in Parkdale
Two people are dead after a fire tore through a home in Toronto’s Parkdale area early on Tuesday morning.
Toronto Firefighters say they were called to a home at 61 Wilson Park Road, south of Queen Street West, just after 3:30 a.m.
Deputy Chief Jim Jessop said they arrived to find an older home ablaze.
They entered and found a person, reportedly a woman, unconscious inside.
Paramedics said she was later pronounced dead.
She was not identified pending notification of next of kin.
Toronto Fire Investigations Chief Steve Wilson said a second victim has been located deceased inside the home, but it is the home is not structurally safe enough for fire crews to remove them.
“We do have (Heavy Urban Search and Rescue) and an engineer from city assessing structural integrity,” Wilson said. “We want to ensure it is safe before we send in any members to do a recovery.”
The flames and smoke were so intense that fire crews could not complete a search of the home in the first few hours they were on scene.
Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said a total of three people lived in the house. One person made it out safely.
The interior of the building sustained structural damage including at least one staircase that collapsed.
The cause of the fire will be investigated once it is fully suppressed.
Queen Street West was closed in both directions between Wilson Park Road and Triller Avenue to allow for an investigation.
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