Firegeezer.com » Another Arson In Toronto

Update: Body found in fire building. Scroll down

TORONTO HAS BEEN HIT WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF ARSONS in the past four months. Another one took place early this morning.

City News image

The Toronto Star reports:

A fire destroyed a group of under-construction townhouses after flames spread from a nearby high-rise building downtown early this morning. While no one was hurt, police are calling the 1 a.m. fire at Jarvis and Carlton Sts. suspicious.

Witnesses say about 150 people, mostly evacuated residents, watched the three alarm fire from the sidewalk outside the building.

Three townhouses on Mutual St. were destroyed and three remained relatively untouched by flames, police said. The fire caused an estimated $500,000 damage to the property.

This report will be updated as more information is available.

Update, 3:30 Eastern:
There was a total of 110 firefighters on the scene of the fire that went to three alarms. Flying embers ignited several balconies of a nearby high-rise apartment on the 9th, 16th and 27th floors.

The Ontario Prov. Fire Marshal has been called in to assist with the investigation. It looks like there were more than one point-of-origin. The renovation project had been idle for several, perhaps as many as nine, months and it was reported that there were several transients living in the vacant homes.

Update #2, 4:15 pm
A body has been found in the ruins of one of the houses. There are no indications yet of its identity. The site has now been officially declared a crime scene and damage estimates have been increased to $700,000.

Toronto Star/Porot image