Fire that killed 4 seniors at Toronto Community Housing building deemed arson

Toronto police and fire officials have determined the fire at an east-end Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) building that killed four seniors was intentional.

According to a statement from the City of Toronto, the fire on Feb. 5 at the Neilson Hall Apartments building at 1315 Neilson Rd‎. started in combustible chairs on the fifth floor.

Toronto police told Global News officers are now involved and the fire is now being investigated as arson.

READ MORE: Toronto Community Housing Corporation charged in fire that killed 3 seniors: Sources

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Three people died on Feb. 5 and a fourth person died on Feb. 29.

The fire was so strong that some of the seniors had to be brought down on ladders because the hallways were full of smoke.

READ MORE: 3 dead, 12 hospitalized after fire at Toronto seniors’ residence

Toronto Fire Services found multiple Ontario Fire Code violations during their post-fire inspection. It later charged the Toronto Community Housing Corporation with the following violations:

– Permitting combustible materials to accumulate in a means of egress
– Failing to instruct supervisory staff on fire emergency procedures in the fire safety plan before being given responsibility for fire safety
– Failing to implement the fire safety plan in the building‎

The Fire Code defines a “means of egress” as a “continuous path of travel” for the “escape of persons from any point in a building or contained open space to a separate building, an open public thoroughfare or an exterior open space protected from fire exposure from the building and having access to an open public thoroughfare.”

Adam Miller contributed to this report