A six-alarm fire gutted a building near Kensington Market, leaving 40 people out of their homes in the middle of the night and injuring two firefighters late Sunday.
The fire erupted in the basement of 368 College St., home to a Canada Computers store and six apartment units on its upper floors, around 11:15 p.m.
This afternoon, all that was left of the computer store were soaked printers – still in their boxes – on the sidewalk and charred cables and headphones hanging on the walls, twisted plastic from the heat of the fire.
A crowd of people gathered in front of the hollowed-out building, including social housing representatives trying to help now-homeless tenants find a new place to live.
Despite the extensive damage to the building, none of the tenants were injured. All of them managed to make it out of the building before it was engulfed.
Close to 100 firefighters were called to battle the blaze. A group from the Fire Hall 315, which is right across the street from Canadian Computers, were the first to arrive. Another 21 trucks came during the nearly four hours it took to extinguish the flames.
Capt. David Eckerman says he believes the fire started in the basement, where the store kept most of its merchandise, rapidly spread onto the first floor, and soon threatened the apartments above.
“We tried to cut holes in the first floor to drop a line through and cool the basement,” he said. “But the first floor burnt and collapsed and we had to evacuate the firefighters.”
One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation, another suffered a minor leg injury.
Crews were able to re-enter the building from the north side and managed to drown the flames just before 3 a.m., said Eckerman.
The building was the only one damaged by the fire. Eckerman said that is partly because the building to the east had recently installed a firewall and the building to the west was smaller in size and dodged the upper-storey flames.
Even after the fire was put out, firefighters had to pry down walls to check for smoldering spots. Fire crews will be stationed at the building for at least a day to tackle any lingering smoke.
“Once you’re pulling stuff apart, you’re allowing oxygen … you’re going to have flare ups,” said Mike Ross, a spokesman from the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office.
Investigators were still not able to provide an estimate of how much damage had been done to the building, which was largely destroyed by fire and water used to fight it.
So far, there is no indication that foul play was involved in the blaze.
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