FIRE AT THE PORT
Firefighters worked throughout the day to put out a six-alarm fire on Cherry St.,
Toronto firefighters worked throughout the day at the smouldering scene of a massive blaze that broke out in a recycling facility in the Port Lands Thursday morning.
Smoke billowed into the sky above the fire at a Green For Life (GFL) recycling facility on Cherry St., which spread to a neighbouring building filled with used mattresses.
Speaking at the scene, Toronto fire Chief Matthew Pegg said the initial six-alarm fire “escalated through the alarm levels very quickly” as the building was “fully engulfed.”
By 8:50 a.m., the blaze had been downgraded to a two-alarm status and the fire was largely out by midday “with the exception of a few hot spots,” said Toronto fire spokesperson Adrian Ratushniak.
By evening, only five vehicles re- mained on scene, including a fire boat. Ratushniak said the crews were still fighting the “hidden hot spots” and needed to pull down some walls to reach the burning. He called their status a “defensive position” and said crews would likely be working until Friday morning.
“There’s extensive damage in the structure, the roof has collapsed,” said Larry Coco, chief of fire investigations.
Coco said that through interviews, fire investigators deduced fireworks were not set off by the site of the blaze. “The firework activity was seen north of this location, not at this location,” he said.
Through witness interviews, fire investigators say the origin of the fire is “where the recyclables were handled.”
According to Pegg, everyone inside the facility was able to get out of the building safely.
The location of the fire, on the shore of Lake Ontario, allowed firefighters to douse the flames with lake water drawn by the William Lyon Macken- zie fire boat. Pegg said they were able to pump tens of thousands of litres per minute through the boat, which became “a key source of protection for the mattress storage facility.”
The “very stubborn” fire was fuelled by the mix of materials in the GFL facility, Pegg said, and members of the hazardous materials unit were at the scene. Ministry of Environment officials were also there amid concerns about runoff into the lake.
Pegg said there was heavy smoke visible when the first crews arrived just before 1 a.m. Part of the roof collapsed later on, and firefighters stayed outside the structure to fight the flames at a distance. With the building partially open to the elements, increased winds meant the fire was “swirling a bit.”
One of their big concerns became a nearby used mattress facility, to which the fire spread before it was contained.
“A quantity of mattresses like that would burn and release such a high heat . . . that it would accelerate the fire very quickly.” This made the mattress facility one of the most important fronts of the battle, he explained.
The miserable, rainy weather proved to be both ally and enemy: although it made for a tough work environment for firefighters, it also helped to minimize the risk of flying embers in the air.
“Hard on us, but good on the conditions, so we’ll take that,” Pegg said.
At its peak, the fire’s status was raised to six-alarm, with 68 fire trucks on site, and people in the area reported hearing explosions.
The amount of smoke was also a concern. Pegg said there were reports from as far away as Etobicoke from residents who could “smell an odour.” Mayor John Tory, who came down to the pier to thank the firefighters for their hard work, said the smoke was likely not dangerous. “There is no good smoke, but this is just smoke people smell, widespread across the city, and doesn’t — as best anyone knows — pose any danger,” he said. With files from Fakiha Baig