Firefighters will remain on-scene in the Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue area through the night as they work to stamp out the remnants of a massive six-alarm blaze that tore through an historic racquet club in Deer Park Tuesday, destroying the building and displacing area residents.
Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said Tuesday night that he’s confident the fire has been contained, however crews are still battling active flames at the scene.
A heavy excavator is working to pick apart the remaining debris of the building in order to expose areas that are still burning. However Pegg said the meticulous work is proving to be slow-going.
“We now know and can safely say that our on-scene operations will continue at least overnight and into tomorrow,” Pegg told reporters at an update Tuesday night. “What I can tell you is that we’re going to be here all night and we’re definitely still going to be here in the morning.
[IN PHOTOS: Crews battle massive fire at Deer Park racquet club]
Some 120 firefighters have been battling the blaze and have been rotating throughout the day in order to remain properly hydrated and rested.
Top of Form
The fire broke out on the second floor of the Badminton & Racquet Club of Toronto on St. Clair Avenue near Yonge Street at around 9:20 a.m.
Firefighters initially climbed the side of the building using ladders and were fighting the blaze from the roof but were ordered to vacate the premises amid structural concerns.
The fire, in turn, sent large plumes of smoke into the air and resulted in the collapse of the southern portion of the building’s roof.
“We are confident that the fire is contained. We have worked very, very hard and continue to work very, very hard to ensure that there is no spread to adjoining structures,” Pegg told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. “That priority will not change.”
For hours on Tuesday, firefighters sprayed water on the blaze from atop aerial ladders and from inside condominium units in an adjacent building.
As for the racquet club itself, Pegg said the building has sustained “extraordinary” damage and will likely burn to the ground.
“There is still a very active fire. We are still dealing with a very significant amount of burning, there is a very high volume of fire, a lot of heat and a lot of smoke,” he said earlier in the day.
Numerous buildings evacuated
The racquet club was evacuated at the outset of the fire and a nearby condominium building on Yonge Street south of St. Clair Avenue was evacuated a short time later.
Pegg said existing evacuation orders related to the fire will remain in place overnight.
Residents displaced by the fire are being advised to visit the lobby of 55 St. Clair Avenue West where they can arrange for temporary accommodation if necessary.
Pegg said the evacuation orders will be reevaluated in the morning, but he added that there will be many safety checks before residents will be allowed to return home.
The number of buildings that have been evacuated is not clear.
Crews worked feverishly throughout the day to keep the flames from spreading to neighbouring buildings as heavy winds contributed to the acceleration and spread of the raging fire.
“We have some very, very exhausted firefighters and we are planning now for rehabilitation and how we are going to look after our own people,” he said. “We will see some additional flow through resources over the next while.”
One firefighter sustained a back injury while battling the blaze and has been taken to hospital as a precaution. All occupants of the club, meanwhile, are safe and accounted for were housed in a nearby restaurant immediately after the fire broke out. The TTC also sent four buses to the scene to shelter displaced residents.
The cause of the fire has not been determined at this point but in a memo sent to members of the club, the chief operating officer of the facility said that it appears to have originated in the main lounge in the southeast corner of the building.
“At this moment the full extent of the damage is unknown, but it will be substantial,” Paul Cadieux wrote. “Toronto Fire Services have informed me that the club will remain closed until the structural integrity of the building can be determined.”
Club was founded in 1924
The Badminton & Racquet Club of Toronto was founded in 1924 and had recently undergone renovations.
Prior to housing the racquet club, the building served as a streetcar storage facility for the Toronto & York Radial Railway and then the TTC. During this time, it was known as the Deer Park carhouse. According to TTC spokesperson Brad Ross, the building dates back to the late 1800’s.
“This is devastating for those of us who love this neighbourhood,” Josh Matlow, who is the city councillor for the area, told CP24 at the scene. “It is surreal to see the heart of our community with a dark plume around it but thank goodness that there are no fatalities or injuries at this point. Our hope is simply that everyone remains safe.”
A longtime member of the Badminton & Racquet Club of Toronto, meanwhile, told CP24 on Tuesday that she is heartbroken to see the building destroyed.
“My parents were members, I have been a member. It is just such a family club,” Wendy Jarvis said. “This is going to be devastating for the next little while for all of us but we are going to rebuild. We are a tight group and we will make it better.”
Tory visits fire site
Though the immediate area surrounding the building is largely commercial, there are several residential buildings in the vicinity.
Visiting the site late on Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Tory said that most of the displaced residents have gone elsewhere but he said that the city will work to find shelter for the small number of people who have nowhere else to go.
“We want to make sure that people have a place to go, even just to get a meal,” he said. “We will talk to the local churches, which operate some ‘Out of the Cold’ type programs, and the Red Cross and make sure they are looked after.”
Tory said the scale of the fire is “almost unprecedented” and credited emergency personnel with keeping it from spreading. He said he has already personally thanked a number of firefighters on scene and will continue to do so.
“Thank you from all the people from Toronto for working as a team with a great deal of courage and determination to deal with a very difficult situation,” he said.
Roads, Transit affected
Transit and traffic in the area have also bene stymied in the area because of the blaze and the disruptions are expected to continue into Wednesday morning.
“We’re already planning with our TTC colleagues,” Pegg said Tuesday night. “There are going to be some disruptions in the area from a transit streetcar perspective and some road issues.”
St. Clair Avenue remains closed in both directions at Yonge Street as crews continue to battle the fire.
St. Clair Station has also been closed due to the fire and subway trains are bypassing it.
The TTC also said that there will be no streetcar service on the 512 route between St. Clair and St. Clair west stations “for the foreseeable future” because of the blaze.
Transit riders and motorists are being advised to plan to avoid the area Wednesday morning as disruptions are expected to persist in the area because of the fire.
