Chief calls fire-fighting operation “unprecented”
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Hundreds of residents displaced by the two Thorncliffe Park high-rise condo fires burning since last Thursday have been told they will remain out of their 408 units until at least next week as firefighting efforts continue.
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Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday that his crews are dealing with an “unprecedented” situation that “has tested every resource Toronto Fire Services has.”
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Jessop said combustible particle boards in walls shared by the two building are hard to reach and the blaze “remains active.”
“The fire is burning deep inside a narrow gap where the two buildings meet,” said Jessop. “This space is so tight, between 25-50 millimetres that firefighters cannot directly access it.”
CARBON MONOXIDE, SMOKE DETECTED
The evacuation began last week due to elevated carbon monoxide levels and smoke, Jessop said.
“We have never in the history of the Toronto Fire Service experienced a fire like this.”
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Jessop said after meeting with a team of engineers on Tuesday, the recommendation was to keep the buildings evacuated “until further notice.”
Jessop cautioned the recommended approach to douse the fire will cause significant damage to units adjoining walls where the fire is burning.
“We may access through the walls of a number of units to get to the burning material that is literally sandwiched between the two buildings,” he added.
There’s water and smoke damage throughout the buildings and holes in the walls in those units where firefighters are trying to put out the blaze.
USING GARDEN HOSES BECAUSE FIRE HOSES TOO BIG
“Our fire hoses can’t even access the space provided,” he said, adding firefighters are now using garden hoses. “It’s absolutely unprecedented in the sense of a firefighting operation.”
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Jessop said he had no idea how many other Toronto buildings may have this material but with over 3,000 highrise buildings in the city, “it would be irresponsible of me to comment on what we don’t know.”
He said the fire investigation will take “several weeks, if not months.”
The five-alarm blaze was first detected at around 1:30 p.m. last Thursday at 11 Thorncliffe Park Dr. and had spread to an adjoining condominium at 21 Overlea Blvd by the evening.
Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, executive director for Toronto Emergency Management, told reporters that 119 hotels are providing shelter for 370 people from 173 displaced households.
“It’s difficult for us at this time to come up with a sum (of how much it’s costing the city) at this moment,” said Beaven-Desjardins.
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