Demetre Papadopolous and his dog Pluto were out for a walk when the fire started.
DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STARSharon Dougherty only had time to grab her housecoat to cover the nightgown she was wearing, hop on her scooter and leave her first-floor apartment.
The 66-year-old, who suffers from diabetes and high-blood pressure, was one of hundreds residents left homeless after their 30-storey apartment building at 200 Wellesley St. E. was evacuated Friday night after a major fire.
Fire officials speaking to reporters Saturday estimated that 1,700 people were affected by the blaze, but revised that figure on Sunday back to 1,200 as they had originally said Friday.
After a restless night at a nearby community centre, Dougherty waited anxiously Saturday hoping she could get back into her apartment.
But as the day progressed it became clear it would be a while before she would be let back into her home. She had hoped at the very least to be able to go back in to pick up her charger for her scooter, some clothing and valuables.
“It just makes you confused,” she said as she waited, fretful about how she would charge her scooter. “But you just roll with the punches — whatever comes. You take one step at a time.”
It seems unlikely any of the residents, many of whom are immigrants or physically or mentally challenged, will have access to their suites over the weekend.
Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire as well as the extent of water, electrical and structural damage done to the building.
The investigation is in “its preliminary stages,” said Scott Evenden of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office. It may be many months before fire officials determine the cause of the blaze.
The building did not have sprinklers on every floor, Toronto Fire Service Commander Bob O’Hallarn said Friday. But because it is an older building it is not required by code to have them.
The fire is “probably as ferocious an apartment fire as I’ve ever seen,” said O’Hallarn.
“We really don’t know when residents can go back,” he said. “We have to assess structural, electrical and water damage. We must have a proper fire-alarm system.”
Residents of the building milled around the Wellesley St. Community Centre on Saturday, which is just across from the apartment building.
Many of them had spent a sleepless night there on cots, worrying about what was going to happen. Their gaze often drifted upwards to the charred and blackened balcony of the apartment where the fire began on the 24th floor. Nearby, on an adjacent balcony, a Canadian flag flapped in the wind.
“It’s terrible. I couldn’t sleep. I was all shook up,” said Gail Lacroix, 57.
Lacroix, sat on a scooter outside the community centre on Saturday with her little dog, wondering where she would stay until she could return to her home.
She suffers from lung disease and asthma and needs oxygen. “If I lay down, I can’t breathe,” she explained.
Demetre Papadopolous sat forlornly leaning against the wall of the community centre, his dog Pluto covered in a Red Cross blanket by his side. He had been out walking with his dog when the fire started. He said he slept on the floor of a nearby building on Friday night.
Doughtery, with a blanket covering her lap, is worried about the possible damage to her apartment. Although she lives on the first floor, water from fighting the fire had flooded through the vents and destroyed her floors.
“I’ll phone my sister,” she said, hoping she could stay there for a few days.
A team from Toronto Community Housing and the Red Cross worked most of Saturday to help residents, getting medicine, food and accommodation for those who were in need.
Some residents, however, opted to stay with relatives or friends rather than spend any time in a shelter. One resident, who asked not to be identified, stayed at the Royal York hotel Friday night because she had apartment insurance, she said. “I’m a basket case,” she said. “I didn’t get a chance to get my VISA or my meds … I don’t know what I’m going to do after Monday.”
Located in the heart of St. James Town, one of Canada’s most densely populated areas; the building with 711 units is one of the largest public housing units in the country.
The fire is believed to have started in unit 2424 where Stephen Vassilev lived. He left his apartment Friday morning only to return to find the building in flames. His one-bedroom unit was full of law books and legal papers, pertaining to a legal dispute in Elliot Lake.
“I believe it was arson” meant to destroy the documents, said the 59-year-old man on Friday night. “It’s arson for sure so that my story could not be told.”
Toronto fire officials and officials from the fire marshal’s office confirmed that the apartment where the fire started was full of “debris.” They ruled out any possibility of the fire starting on the balcony.
On Friday night many residents had been put up in the Wellesley Community Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital, a University of Toronto exam centre and a Toronto Community Housing seniors’ building on Christie St. north of Dupont St., said housing spokesman Barry Koen-Butt.
“This is Toronto's Katrina,” said John Ploeg, a disabled resident who said Friday night he would not be able to sleep on the cots he was being offered.
Toronto Fire Chief William Stewart said Friday the blaze “was nothing like I’ve ever seen in my 39-years,” adding highrise fires are usually resolved in under an hour.
However, firefighters remained on scene Saturday evening, monitoring the building for flare ups and smouldering debris, said Capt. Adrian Ratushniak.
Fourteen people were hospitalized Friday night, including three children, one of them just a month old. Three of the injuries were described as very serious. Three firefighters were also taken to hospital and as many as 10 were treated for heat exhaustion.
By Saturday evening, seven residents — including a mother and daughter — were still at St. Michael’s Hospital, but they were all “doing well and in good spirits,” said housing spokesman Koen-Butt.
At least 120 firefighters and 27 fire trucks were on the scene, which at one point was deemed a seven-alarm blaze.
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