Toronto firefighters battled extreme heat and heavy smoke while trying to rescue a man from a Scarborough home Friday morning, Fire Chief Jim Jessop says.
The man was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead, Toronto police said.
Jessop praised the firefighters for contending with challenging conditions to reach the man in the home’s basement.
“I can tell you looking at the stairwell that the firefighters had to fight their way down, the heat would have been extreme. I haven’t seen charring like that in a while and it consumed joists (that are) part of the ceiling,” Jessop said.
“They did absolutely admirable work trying to save a life.”
Firefighters were called to a home on Marlena Drive, near Morningside Avenue and Danzig Street, around 6:30 a.m. Nov. 13 for reports of a fire.
Given the smoke, visibility would have been zero when crews entered, Jessop said. They conducted a search inside while fighting the fire at the same time.
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“The damage down below is substantive, and the heat was so intense it actually melted portions of the garage as it vented out,” Jessop said.
“It was so hot that it melted the garage door opener and it melted a number of articles in the garage.”
The cause of the fire is not known.
An investigation is underway.
Jessop said the blaze marked Toronto’s 11th fatal fire of the year.
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