Fire in Toronto’s west-end leaves one dead
Posted March 28, 2010 2:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
One person is dead and another is in critical condition after a fire tore through a rooming house in south Etobicoke early Sunday morning.
The body of a man in his 40s was found at the rear of the rooming house located on 22nd Street, between the Lakeshore and Burningham.
The fire broke out just before 5 a.m. and residents told 680News, thick smoke filled the hallways quickly.
Three people were taken to hospital, one of whom is on life-support.
Firefighters say the fire was like a blowtorch shooting out of a window.
Investigators told 680News the blaze began in one of the units of the rooming house before punching through the floors and spreading to the roof.
Area residents told 680News the flames were up to fifteen feet high and lit up the street.
Neighbours provided blankets and coffee to the rooming house residents as they stood on the street watching in shock as the fire spread to the second floor within thirty minutes.
A large portion of the buildings roof has caved in and the basement has flooded, forcing residents to now find another place to live.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
