All 17 floors of a Morningside highrise have been evacuated following a “significant” gas leak in the building.
Speaking to CP24 on Monday morning, Const. David Hopkinson said at around 7:45 a.m., emergency crews were called to a building on Mornelle Court, located near Morningside Avenue and Ellesmere Road, for a reported gas leak.
Toronto Fire subsequently evacuated all tenants in the building and cordoned off the surrounding area.
“We have sent a fair amount of officers to try and help coordinate that evacuation and keeping people away from that scene,” Hopkinson said.
“We are hoping that the residents can find some shelter nearby. Hopefully they have maybe friends or family or they can find shelter someplace else but if that is not possible, the TTC has sent out shelter buses to try to keep residents as warm as possible.”
No injuries have been reported and the leak does not appear to be impacting any surrounding buildings.
Toronto Fire Capt. Adrian Ratushniak said Enbridge is on site.
Hopkinson said it is unclear when tenants will be allowed to return to their units.
“I think that will depend on the fire department’s investigation and how significant the leak is. Typically to evacuate 17 floors of a building, that’s got to be some leak or there must be some urgency or threat to safety to do that,” he said.
“They will not allow anybody in until they are absolutely sure that the environment is safe to do so.”
The cause of the leak has not yet been determined.
