A fire at a supportive housing building for seniors in downtown Toronto is under investigation after a person pulled from the flames died Sunday evening, Toronto’s fire chief says.
Just before 10 p.m. Sunday, crews responded to a fire at 423 Yonge Street, near Carlton Street, Chief Jim Jessop told reporters Monday morning. The address is the site of a highrise building that provides supportive housing for seniors.
Crews forced their way into a unit on the eighth floor that was full of heavy smoke and heat, Jessop said, where they found one person with no vital signs. The individual was pulled from the unit, given CPR and transported into the care of Toronto paramedics, he said.
“Unfortunately, the intensity of the smoke and the fire was too much and the individual has passed,” Jessop said. “I want to offer our deepest condolences to all those impacted.”
Jessop did not identify the victim, but confirmed they were a senior.
(CBC)
The fire was extinguished and Toronto paramedics told CBC News a second person was assessed at the scene and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Toronto Fire Service and Toronto police are now investigating the cause of the fire, Jessop said, adding there is no early indication of how it originated. The Office of the Fire Marshal was notified following the death, he said.