One person is dead after a fire broke out in a home in Toronto’s Willowdale area early on Tuesday morning.
Toronto Fire said crews were called to a two-storey home on Norton Avenue, between John Mackenzie Parkette and Kenneth Avenue, east of Yonge Street, just after 5 a.m.
Flames were seen shooting out of the home’s windows when fire crews arrived and the blaze eventually reached a two-alarm response.
"Speaking with the crews this morning, they were met with heavy flame conditions. The fire had vented. There were flames coming out of every window and it made it very difficult to get in. They got inside very quickly and were met with heavy fire conditions," Acting Fire Chief Jim Jessop told reporters Tuesday morning.
After firefighters knocked down the flames, they said they located a body at the back of the building on the second floor.
The identity of the person has not been released.
"The deceased has remained in situ pending the arrival of the coroner’s office. The investigation into the fire will focus over the entire building," Jessop said.
The body will be removed by the coroner's office sometime today, Jessop added.
Jessop said multiple individuals were living at the building but that it is too early in the investigation to classify what the building was being used as.
"What was reported to me was that there were multiple rooms and what appears to have been some type of construction that was done that made it difficult for us to access the building once we were inside."
The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called to the scene to investigate.
