A massive fire engulfed a subdivision that is under construction in Vaughan on Wednesday, destroying numerous homes.
The City of Vaughan said in a statement issued shortly before 3 p.m. that Vaughan Fire and Rescue Services responded at 1:11 p.m. to the area of Pine Valley Drive and Teston Road for reports of fires at homes under construction.
Images on social media showed a huge plume of black smoke coming from the scene.
Video from the Global News chopper showed rows of homes under construction severely damaged or destroyed by the blaze.
“Upon arrival, firefighters were met with a heavy volume of fire driven by windy conditions,” the statement from the City said.
Multiple homes were on fire and several collapsed.
“Defensive firefighting operations were immediately commenced, and the bulk of the fires were knocked down,” the statement said. “Spot fires in the area related to this incident are being addressed.”
Fifty-two firefighters were at the scene, along with four chief officers, York Regional Police and multiple paramedics.
No serious injuries were reported. Deputy Fire Chief Grant Moffatt told reporters one firefighter was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Moffatt said the first responding crews reported heavy smoke in the area and the fire was immediately upgraded to a second-alarm.
“Once the crews arrived on scene, they determined we had three buildings on the west end of this site on fire,” Moffatt told reporters.
“Due to the wind and the temperatures today, it did spread to the adjoining buildings.”
He said the homes that caught fire were framed and roofed, ready to be bricked. Nothing but the foundation was left for many of the structures.
Moffatt said probably 20 homes have been destroyed and another 15 damaged.
Crews were able to prevent the fire from spreading to occupied homes, Moffatt said.
“Many of the homes will have significant heat damage that they’ll have to be torn down,” he said.
There is no word on what may have caused the blaze. The Office of the Fire Marshal has been notified and an investigation is underway.
“The public is asked to avoid the area due to firefighting operations,” the City’s statement said.
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