Firefighters rescued two people after a two-alarm fire broke out in a building near St. Lawrence Market Saturday evening.
Emergency crews were called to a five-storey building on Henry Lane Terrace, near Lower Jarvis Street and The Esplanade, shortly before 8 p.m.
Platoon Chief Bill Bygrave said when firefighters arrived, a unit on the third floor was fully engulfed. They encountered heavy flames and smoke.
"The apartment was very cluttered -- a bit of a hoarding situation. And crews worked extensively to try to get through the debris to get to the base of the fire," Bygrave said.
"This was tough, just to get in the door. The door was jammed with all the things behind it."
Bygrave said crews found two people in distress trapped in the hallway.
"Their only way out was through glass windows. They broke (the windows) themselves. A Toronto Fire tower truck went up with the bucket and was able to rescue two people," Bygrave said.
The victims were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Bygrave said firefighters have since knocked down the blaze and smoke has been cleared out of the building. Crews remain in the unit to put out hot spots.
"The current situation now is that because of the amount of debris in the unit, there's still smouldering materials. And to get to the bottom of it, we have to remove almost all of the material -- that's all the contents of that apartment," Bygrave said.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
