The Office of the Fire Marshal says a six-alarm fire that tore through York Memorial Collegiate Institute in early May was accidental.
Officials said on Thursday that they do not know what caused the fire, but they ruled out arson.
Firefighters were first called to the Trethewey Drive and Eglinton Avenue West-area school on May 7 at around 2:15 p.m. for a fire that erupted in the auditorium. Flames could be seen coming from a second-storey window of the school.
Before 3:30 a.m. on May 8, firefighters were called back to the scene after a second fire started inside the school. Fire officials said part of the ceiling and roof collapsed, and that bricks had come loose and fallen.
The approximate 880 York Memorial students were relocated to George Harvey Collegiate Institute, which is located a short distance away from the high school. They will then begin the new school year at the vacant Scarlett Heights Academy on Trehorne Drive in Etobicoke.
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Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said his still are assessing the findings.
“Our team will review this fire investigation report in detail in order to gain a full understanding as to the origin, cause and circumstance analysis that has been completed and determinations that have been reached by the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal,” he wrote on Twitter.
York Memorial C.I. was built 90 years. Its name represents fallen young soldiers in the First World War. There are 11 steps at the main entrance of the high school that signify Remembrance Day’s 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
— With files from Gabby Rodrigues
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