[URBAN NOTE] Fire at Queen and Bathurst

[rfmcdonald]

From the CBC:

A large fire Wednesday in downtown Toronto has caused millions of dollars in damage and left a row of century-old two-storey Queen Street buildings a smoking ruin.

More than 150 Toronto firefighters worked to tame the fire, which broke out around 5:30 a.m. in National Sound, a ground-level stereo store at 615 Queen Street West, just east of Bathurst Street.

By about 7:30 a.m., the fire had destroyed Duke's Cycle at 625 Queen Street West, five doors down from where the blaze began. The bicycle store — a destination for cyclists for 95 years — had collapsed.

"There is no building left anymore. It's gone," owner Gary Duke told CBC News. "My father was born upstairs, my brother lived upstairs. It hurts."

By 11 a.m., the main fire was under control but crews continued to fight flare ups under building material that had collapsed in the blaze.

Toronto fire Chief Bill Stewart said the fire marshal has been called in to investigate the blaze, which he said affected at least 14 buildings and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Toronto deputy fire Chief Frank Lamie said the building at 623 Queen Street West was also in danger of collapse.

There have been no injuries reported as people forced out of their apartments huddled on TTC buses to keep warm in a wind chill that feels like –21 C, but emergency workers were seen carrying stretchers into the building.

Many tenants said they were woken before dawn by police and firefighters banging on their doors. Some were taken by ladder from their windows.

The area largely consists of street-level shops and businesses with upper-level apartments.

Streetcar service for the 501, 511 and 510 cars has been diverted. TTC officials are advising customers to use streetcars travelling along King Street.

blogTO has quite a few photos of the scene. I'm saddened by the fire, not least because I passed those buildings for several years on the streetcar back when I lived down on Queen Street West.