Man dies of injuries after fire in Regent Park apartment
A man has died of his injuries after an early morning fire in a Toronto Community Housing apartment building in Regent Park on Sunday.
No one else was injured.
Emergency crews were called to the scene of a mid-rise building on River Street near Gerrard Avenue East just before 9 a.m. A passerby noticed smoke coming out of a third floor window facing the street and called 911, Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg told CBC Toronto.
Pegg said firefighters had to force their way into the unit. Once inside, they quickly found a man suffering from what appeared to be serious injuries. He was the only person in the unit at the time.
Firefighters pulled him out of the unit and brought him outside, where Toronto paramedics performed CPR on him. Paramedics then rushed him in life-threatening condition to St. Michael's Hospital. He was pronounced dead there, Pegg said.
"On behalf of all of us at Toronto Fire Services, I extend my sincere condolences to all of those impacted by today's tragic fire," Pegg said.
"It's tragic any day, and it's certainly bad news on Easter Sunday for sure."
The man's age has not been released.
Pegg said the building was not evacuated while the fire was being fought because the fire was contained to the unit. The unit itself sustained extensive fire and smoke damage and there was some water in the hallway.
Toronto Fire inspected the building in March and it was found to be in compliance with the Ontario Fire Code, he said. There were no violations, he added.
The cause, origin and circumstances of the fire are under investigation.
Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal has been notified and is expected to investigate the blaze.
Toronto police had blocked off part of River Street in front of the building on Sunday morning to allow firefighters to do their work, but the road has been reopened.
