'Outcome would have been different,' if TCHC building had more sprinklers

A public housing building for senior citizens that was the site of a deadly blaze on Friday afternoon passed a fire inspection just two weeks ago and was one of the better maintained buildings in the TCHC’s portfolio, interim CEO Greg Spearn says.

“This building is about 25 years old so it is comparably new. It is in good shape. We do regular inspections of all systems and the last full inspection was Jan. 22, so just a matter of a few days ago, and everything was operating perfectly” Spearn told CP24 on Saturday morning.

But that fire inspection wasn’t completed by Toronto firefighters, who say they last attended the building in 2013, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop.

Three people died and 15 people were injured after the two-alarm fire tore through the fifth floor of the 126-unit building on Neilson Rd north of Sewells Road at around 3 p.m.

Ontario Fire Marshal investigator James Allen said the building was only partially covered by sprinklers.

“Had sprinklers been installed (in the entirety of the building), the outcome would have been different.”

Although the building housed residents above the age of 69, it was not technically classified as a retirement residence or a long-term care home.

That classification, combined with the fact it was built before 2007, meant there was no legal requirement to retroactively install sprinklers inside.

The cause of the fire remains unknown as does the circumstances that allowed it to spread so quickly. But fire officials say burning polyurethane furniture in the building’s hallways gave off thick toxic black smoke.

Jessop said the fire inspection Spearn referred to may have been conducted by TCHC or an outside contracted company.

“We can’t speak to what they found or did not find,” Jessop said.

Spearn said that residents on the fifth floor of the building have not been able to return to their units and likely will not be able to for some time.

Some of those displaced residents are staying with friends or family, Spearn said, while about five or six of them have been put up in area hotels with the assistance of the Red Cross.

Additional supports are also being offered to residents who may need further assistance in the wake of the fire.

“We are just trying to make sure that our residents are comfortable and taken care off and our big focus right now is helping with the transition for those that have a longer-term wait to get back to their homes,” Spearn said.

OFM investigators on scene

Investigators with the office of the Ontario Fire Marshal are on scene today, however their formal investigation will not commence until autopsies on the bodies of those who perished in the fire are completed.

In the meantime, investigators are meeting with stakeholders and completing other preliminary work that needs to be done ahead of the formal probe.

Allen said his office will completed an inspection of the building, looking for potential violations of the Ontario Fire Code.

In a statement issued early Saturday morning, Mayor John Tory said the blaze is a reminder that the “real danger” from fire often arises more from the smoke that accompanies it, rather than the flames themselves.

“I hope we can learn any possible lessons as to how people, especially those more vulnerable, can be better protected in circumstances such as this,” he said.

Of the 15 people who were injured in the blaze, eight remain in hospital, police say.