Firefighters continue to battle "hot-spots" at a blaze that ravaged a home under construction in the Lawrence Park area, according to Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg. The fire started Thursday evening, burned through the night and continued throughout the day on Friday. Frigid cold and icy conditions hampered efforts to extinguish the fire completely. 'Difficult and challenging operation' "We're still very much active here today," Pegg said Friday. "This was a very, very difficult and challenging operation for our crews." In order to fully suppress the flames, he said firefighters may need to take the building apart. "There's still quite a bit of work to be done." Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said there's a 'significant' amount of work to be done before crews can leave the scene of the fire. (John Lesavage/CBC) Pegg said crews suppressed the fire with no injuries, and also stopped the flames from spreading to the building's adjoining structures. The fire was upgraded to a six-alarm response, the highest possible priority for a call, just before midnight Thursday. Pegg said preliminary investigations show the fire started in the basement, although he's unsure whether or not investigators will be able to determine a definitive cause. At this point, he said there's no evidence to indicate that the cause of the fire was suspicious in nature. Crews forced to pull back Thursday Emergency crews were called to the unoccupied house on Rochester Avenue, near Lawrence Avenue E. and Mount Pleasant Road, around 7:30 p.m. for reports of a basement fire. Toronto Fire says that by the time crews arrived on scene the fire had progressed significantly and they were forced to pull back. Freezing temperatures and icy surfaces hampered efforts to knock the fire down overnight Thursday. (James Morrison/ CBC) "There's a lot of challenges for our crews to get to this fire. The home is about 5,000 square feet and made up of lightweight construction material, so it isn't safe to send firefighters in," acting Division Commander Doug Harper told CBC Toronto Thursday. Several TTC buses were brought in to provide shelter for firefighters battling the blaze through the night. Flooding risk to nearby homes Due to the "extraordinary" magnitude of the fire, Pegg said crews were forced to use large amounts of water, which could impact nearby homes. "We were literally flowing thousands of litres a minute of water over a period of hours," he said. Pumps were being used to relocate the water away from the basements of nearby residents. 'It's a miracle,' Tory says Toronto Mayor John Tory, speaking with reporters Friday afternoon, thanked the firefighters for preventing injuries, and protecting nearby property. "It's a miracle — with a house fire as extensive as this one — that the houses on either side seems to be relatively undamaged," he said. Toronto Mayor John Tory (right) and Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg spoke to reporters Friday to thank firefighters for their work on the blaze. (John Lesavage/CBC) Tory thanked them for their ongoing efforts concerning recent downtown fires, specifically a two-day battle at a recreation centre in Scarborough last month.<doc-sep>Kayla Goodfield, CP24.com Emergency crews are battling a three-alarm fire at a home under construction in Lawrence Park. Flames began to rip through the basement of the unoccupied home located on Rochester Avenue near Lawrence and Bayview avenues at around 7 p.m. on Thursday. The first floor of the house has been compromised, according to Toronto Fire. “It’s a large sized house – I think about 5,000 sq. ft. so that in itself creates some challenges. We have the weather to contend with, it’s very slippery and our crews want to work safely so we are trying to put some salt down for our firefighters but as I mentioned there are challenges trying to get at the fire for the final extinguishment,” acting division commander Doug Harper said at the scene at around 10 p.m. “Eventually what will happen is Toronto Fire will have our investigators respond, they will work on a cause and origin and typically that response can take up to the next day when we’ll have a better handle of this.” No injuries have been reported. Roads have been blocked in the area.<doc-sep>Fire crews are still trying to extinguish a massive six-alarm fire at a house under construction in Lawrence Park. Firefighters were called to the 5,000-square-foot home on Rochester Avenue, near Mount Pleasant Road and Lawrence Avenue East, after 7:30 p.m. Thursday. It appears the fire started in the basement before ripping through the first floor, making it unsafe for crews to go inside and battle the flames. It was upgraded from a four-alarm fire just after midnight — mostly due to the cold and firefighters not being able to get inside the home. So far, more than 80 firefighters and 20 fire trucks responded to the scene. No one was inside the home at the time and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is not yet known.<doc-sep>
Send this page to someone via email Toronto firefighters have extinguished a six-alarm fire that gutted a house under construction in Lawrence Park. Emergency crews were called to the home on Rochester Avenue, near St. Ives Crescent, after 7:20 p.m. on Thursday. Toronto Fire Services acting division chief Doug Harper told reporters Thursday night it appeared the fire began in the basement. “There are challenges trying to get at the fire for the final extinguishment,” he said. .@Toronto_Fire continue to battle a four-alarm fire at a Rochester Avenue home under construction (near St. Ives Crescent). @TPFFA crews are working defensively to protect nearby houses. Heavy flames and smoke. Bitter conditions out here (feels like -15 C with wind chill). pic.twitter.com/7FLMaQYKIl — Nick Westoll (@NWestoll) March 8, 2019 Harper said the house, which he estimated to be about 5,000 square feet, was still in a lightweight construction phase. He said firefighters initially couldn’t get inside due to safety concerns. Story continues below advertisement Weather conditions also caused difficulties for responding crews. The fire was upgraded from a four-alarm to a six-alarm just after midnight and was under control just before noon on Friday. A neighbour next door whose home was covered in ice from the water told Global News Toronto firefighters saved his house from going up in flames. “They said their number one priority was to save our house. They did it,” Henry Borden said. Borden also said the home next door was under construction for about 18 to 20 months and was three months from completion. Fire officials said there were no reports of injuries. Authorities said it’s too early to determine the cause of the fire. #TorontoFire ⁦@globalnewsto⁩ On Rochester – former home of Michael Mcain – CEO ⁦@MapleLeafFoods⁩ – under construction – gonna be a long night says Acting Division Chief Doug Harper ⁦@Toronto_Fire⁩ pic.twitter.com/K40U5xpjKT — Kate Wheeler (@KateWheeler007) March 8, 2019 During a Friday afternoon update, Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said that crews are discussing if they need to engage heavy equipment and dismantle the home to “fully suppress” any leftover hot spots from the fire and allow crews to investigate inside the home. Story continues below advertisement Pegg said the home suffered extensive damages but there’s currently no indication that the fire was suspicious in nature. — With a file from David Shum and Oriena Vuong