Crews worked all night and into Wednesday morning to reopen roads and battle the last remnants of a massive fire at Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave.
The six-alarm blaze, which ignited Tuesday morning, tore through the historic Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto until firefighters contained it in the evening. They stayed on-scene all night, and the fire was under control as of 5:45 a.m., said Chief Matthew Pegg of Toronto Fire Services.
“I highly doubt there’s going to be a lot of salvageable building left there,” Pegg said just after 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Thick, black smoke filled the intersection Tuesday, leading police to close roads and the TTC to stop subway service at St. Clair station. At times, the entire block was obscured, with a grey mural on one of the surrounding buildings making the scene look apocalyptic.
All occupants of the charred building were accounted for. One firefighter who incurred a minor back injury was the only one hurt in the fire. However, the historic structure, which dates back to the 1920s, was gutted.
Portions of the racquet club’s roof collapsed — typical for a fire of this size, Pegg said. The building contained combustible materials that contributed to the problem, he added.
The club’s parking lot was also flooded as water from the firefighters’ hoses poured from the building’s front doors. More than 120 firefighters helped douse the flames.
Firefighters were set to enter their 24th hour of work on the fire Wednesday morning.
“Everybody’s exhausted,” Pegg said, praising crews for their tireless efforts.
Late Tuesday night, Pegg said commuters could likely expect delays in the morning. Toronto police said they’d reopened roads north of St. Clair Ave. in both directions. Westbound lanes of St. Clair Ave., east and west of Yonge St., were also reopened for traffic between Avenue Rd. and Avoca Ave.
However, Pegg said Yonge St. would stay closed from St. Clair to Woodlawn Ave., along with eastbound lanes of St. Clair Ave. W. from Avenue Rd. to Yonge St.
Streetcar and subway service at St. Clair Station returned to normal by for the Wednesday morning commute, the TTC said, though buses are still diverting around the scene.
The cause of the fire wasn’t clear Wednesday morning, nor was the location where the fire started. However, racquet club member Bruce Taylor told the Star that club management sent an email to members about the fire, saying it may have been caused by an electrical issue, but offered no other details.
There had been a fire at the site before, Taylor said.
“About eight years ago there was a fire in a sauna. There was some damage, but it was contained to the men’s locker room,” Taylor said.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” he added.
Meanwhile, displaced residents from six buildings were sent to a reception centre run by the Red Cross in an office building at 55 St. Clair Ave. W. at the request of the city’s emergency management office.
The total number of people evacuated wasn’t available, nor was an estimate of when they’d be able to return to their homes. Pegg said only four residents required city help to find accommodations, as the rest were able to stay with friends and family, and firefighters were able to minimize damage to neighbouring buildings.
Pegg thanked members of the public for their patience, and said many are asking when they’ll be able to get back into homes and businesses. At best, he predicted they’d get the all-clear late Wednesday afternoon.
Crews will be hard at work to restart hydro and natural gas service — shut off during the fire — in the area, Pegg said. They’ll also be doing air quality testing and dealing with water runoff.
“It’s going to take us a little more time,” he said.
Fire marshals are at the scene, as are Toronto Fire Services investigators. They haven’t yet determined the total cost of the damage.
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