An investigation is underway following a two-alarm fire in Toronto’s Flemingdon Park neighbourhood that claimed that life of a woman in her 30s and left a man in his 50s with critical injuries.
The blaze broke out on Wednesday at a high-rise building at 45 Grenoble Dr., just east of Don Mills Road and south of Eglinton Avenue East.
Toronto Fire Services said they were called to that address just before 3:30 p.m. and encountered high heat, significant flames, and “complete blackness” inside a unit on the 21st floor. The fire was quickly doused.
“During their primary search, while at the same time conducting fire operations, they removed two persons from the unit,” Fire Chief Jim Jessop said on Wednesday afternoon.
Both were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but a female victim was later pronounced dead.
The identity of the victim has not been released and it is not known what may have been the relationship between the two individuals.
While many tenants sheltered inside their unit, a number of residents were evacuated due to the fire, but have since been allowed to return home.
On Thursday morning, the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) confirmed to CP24 that it is investigating the cause, origin, and circumstances of the fire, which was contained to one apartment.
“We have dispatched two investigators to begin the investigation,” spokesperson Sean Driscoll said, adding that he “cannot speculate on any suspicion of criminality.”
Initially, Toronto police took the lead on the investigation with the support of Toronto fire investigators, who continue to probe the incident.
Toronto police’s forensics team remains on hand.
Police told CP24 on Thursday that at this time the cause of the fire remains unknown.
Neighbour Meet Shah said he was getting ready or work when he heard people shouting in the hallway and opened his door to see what the commotion was all about.
That’s when he said he started packing a bag to leave his home and tried, although unsucessfully, to call the building’s superintendent.
“I rushed to the stairs. I went down all the way from 21st to the ground floor and then I could see all the police as well as the fire brigade this was the first time I saw this big of a thing,” he said, calling what occurred “really scary.”
“It was hard to breath.”
Fellow tenant Sans Gautam said her kitchen and living area became filled with smoke.
“I was scared and I ran out of the building and I called my brother,” she said.
“That lady who passed away I’m not sure but I’m so sad for her and I hope every body else is safe in the building.”
In a post on X, local Coun. Jon Burnside said his “thoughts are with the woman who lost her life, her family, the man critically injured, and the neighbours affected by the fire.”
“Thank you to Toronto Fire Service, Chief Jim Jessop and all the first responders for their efforts to ensure this wasn’t a worse tragedy,” Burnside added.
With files from CP24’s Bryann Aguilar nd CTN News Toronto’s Allison Hurst
