Kensington Market 2-alarm fire forces residents to flee

A two-alarm fire at a Kensington Market rowhouse forced one woman to jump to safety from a second-storey window.

Toronto Fire Services raced to the three-storey semi-detached building on Kensington Avenue, between Kensington Place and Fitzroy Terrace, at approximately 6:15 a.m. ET where smoke was billowing from the upper floors.

Firefighters worked quickly to get the fire under control, containing it to one building. Toronto Fire Services said four residents of the building were able to escape on their own, while two people were rescued. One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital after falling through the fire-damaged attic floor. One resident also suffered minor injuries.

Greg, a resident of the building who declined to give his last name, said he was inside when he noticed the flames coming from a couch in the kitchen area. After fleeing the house, he spotted one of his female roommates who was stuck on the second floor.

"I said you got to jump out your window,'" he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

"She eventually jumped ... and I actually caught her," he said, adding he used a piece of plastic tarp and his own body to help cushion her fall.

Greg said the affected building is a rooming house.

Fire alarms did go off in the building, Greg said, but the fire extinguisher he attempted to use didn't work.

At least 20 Toronto Fire Services vehicles responded to the scene in the dense neighbourhood. The building suffered major damage in the blaze, with black smoke stains visible above its windows and debris covering the ground.

It's unclear what caused the fire and firefighters say it's too early to say if it's suspicious.