A three-alarm fire that killed one person, severely injured two others, and significantly damaged a supportive housing building and drop-in program at downtown Toronto’s All-Saints Church and Community Centre is the “worst thing you can imagine happening,” says one community and crisis worker.

Speaking with CP24.com, Diana Chan McNally, a harm reduction case worker with the downtown east non-profit, said she and her colleagues are scrambling to clean up the mess and ensure the drop-in is safe for the dozens of vulnerable people who stop by there daily for meals and other essentials.

McNally said despite being closed for the day due to the fire, All Saints still welcomed several vulnerable community members for a few hours in its parking lot. A number of other drop-ins and meals programs in the area, including St. Luke Out of the Cold, have already offered to do what they can to help out.

“People rely on us for food. We serve about 800 meals a week,” she said, adding while it’ll be “challenging”, they hope to re-open their program tomorrow.

“We’re going to do as much as we possibly can. What ever we can do we’ll make it work,” McNally said.

“The most pressing matter is our (drop-in) kitchen. Without it, we can’t serve food tomorrow.”

Shortly after 1 a.m. on Tuesday, a hot, smoky fire broke out in a third-floor unit at All Saints’ seven-storey Homes for Tomorrow residence at 319 Dundas St. E. at Sherbourne Street.

Three tenants were rushed to hospital following the three-alarm fire, which took firefighters less than 90 minutes to bring under control.

Toronto police said a man in his 40s died.

A second victim remains in life-threatening condition in hospital, while a third person – also in hospital – is “showing slight improvements and is moving towards stable,” Acting Fire Chief Jim Jessop told reporters at the scene Tuesday afternoon.

Jessop said the heroic efforts and swift actions of the 70 or so firefighters that attended Tuesday morning’s fire “without question saved a number of lives of occupants of this building.”

The blaze, however, has displaced roughly 20 tenants from their homes.

“The third floor is completely blackened. There’s just soot everywhere,” McNally said, adding the water needed to extinguish the fire has unfortunately seeped throughout the building damaging a number of areas, including All Saints’ clothing bank and office spaces.

Several residential units on other floors of the building also have significant smoke and water damage, she added.

McNally said one of the first things this morning she did was contact local Coun. Chris Moise and area MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam for help.

The City of Toronto’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is now working to assist the displaced residents and has secured 20 rooms at a local hotel to provide temporary accomodations.

In a statement provided to CP24.com, City of Toronto spokesperson Anthony Toderian said the city is “coordinating with the Canadian Red Cross” to support residents.

“Red Cross volunteers are onsite at the hotel to assist with the intake of residents, to arrange temporary accommodations and provide emergency food and clothing if needed,” he noted.

McNally said All Saints initially paid out of pocket for emergency hotel rooms for tenants who couldn’t access their homes before the city stepped in.

“It’s just over a week before Christmas and we were already struggling before this happened. … We just can’t mitigate an emergency like this. We need support,” she said, crediting staff at Gerstein Centre for quickly mobilizing to offer mental health support to those traumatized by the fatal fire.

“Our community is so hard hit as it is. To have to stomach this is just too much for people. … This is pretty devastating.”

McNally has since set up a crowdfunding page on behalf of All Saints. All funds collected will be used to restore the damaged units, cover hotel costs for displaced tenants, and pay for expenses associated with re-opening its drop-in program.

People wanting to help can also contact All Saints directly to make a donation.

Mayor John Tory tweeted about the fire Tuesday morning and gave his condolences to the victims.

"I’m thankful our @Toronto_Fire firefighters were able to rescue several people from the building. We’re working to help everyone in the wake of this fire. The Office of Emergency Management is engaged to help the residents who have been displaced by this fire," Tory said.

The origin, cause and circumstances of this fatal fire are now under investigation.

With files from CP24’s Kerrisa Wilson.