WATCH ABOVE: Investigators are trying to determine how two Toronto restaurants went up in flames late Christmas night. One of them is Sotto Sotto, a top choice for celebrities when they come to town for the Toronto International Film Festival. Jennifer Tryon reports.
TORONTO – Fire officials say a four-alarm blaze that tore through two upscale Toronto restaurants on Christmas Day is being treated as suspicious.
Twenty-two trucks and 90 firefighters were dispatched to the scene as flames spread through the building housing Sotto Sotto Restaurant and Spuntini Ristorante and Bar in the city’s trendy Yorkville district on Thursday night.
Damage is estimated at more than $1 million and Spuntini owner Peter Catarin says “the whole place is gone.”
Both restaurants were closed for Christmas and there are no reports of injuries. The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office is investigating.
Fernando Esteves, founder and part-owner of Spuntini Ristorante, posted on Twitter that his restaurant was open on Dec. 24 for catering.
“We are devastated to hear about the fire that started tonight,” Esteves wrote. “We have been closed since the 23rd. Sotto Sotto was open on the 24th and were doing some catering today. We do not know the origin of the fire. We are glad that no one was injured.”
Firefighters were putting out small fires around the building Boxing Day. Firefighters battling the blaze Thursday were ordered to leave the building after it became engulfed in flames and structurally compromised.
Toronto Fire Services division commander Bob O’Hallarn estimated the building could be around 100 years old, making the fire more of a challenge to fight.
“The timbers in them are dried out a lot, they may not have some of the more modern fire stops,” said O’Hallarn
O’Hallarn said it is still unclear what started the fire or where exactly it originated from.
The restaurants are popular dining destinations during the Toronto International Film Festival.
Hip-hop star Drake posted a photo of the fire to Instagram with the caption “Damn. My second home. Gone but not forgotten. #SottoSotto.”
With files from the Canadian Press
Comments