A fire at a home on Simcoe Street near St. Matthews Avenue Thursday morning sent nine people to the hospital and left one child in critical condition.
Around 6 a.m. crews responded to reports of a fire at a home in the 300 block of Simcoe Street in the West End.
Firefighters were confronted with heavy smoke upon arriving at the scene.
Multiple people had self-evacuated and due to the large number involved additional paramedic units were called including the Major Incident Response Vehicle (MIRV).
One child was taken by ambulance to the hospital in critical condition, four children were taken by MIRV to the hospital in stable condition and four adults were also taken to the hospital in an unstable condition.
The blaze was under control by 6:23 a.m. and the home suffered extensive fire, smoke and water damage.
No damage estimates are available at this time and the fire remains under investigation.
Neighbors told 680 CJOB that they were awakened around 6 a.m. by the sound of screams and a window breaking, followed by the arrival of fire trucks.
One man described the residents of the house as “quiet, normal people”.