Man in his 70s dies in apartment fire on Gerrard Street East near Greenwood Avenue
By ALAN SHACKLETON
Toronto Fire Services are investigating a fire this morning on Gerrard Street East that took the life on a man in his 70s.
The fire took place in a fourth-floor apartment unit at the Athens Villa Non-Profit Housing building at 1320 Gerrard St. E., northwest corner of Glenside Avenue two blocks east of Greenwood Avenue.
In an update at the scene of the fire, Toronto Fire Services Divisional Commander Paul O’Brien said firefighters were called to the building just after midnight on Sunday, July 20.
He said that when the first fire crews arrived ther were advised there were two occupants trapped on the fourth floor in an apartment facing Gerrard Street East.
“On arrival on the fourth floor there were some residents attempting to rescue the occupants. Our crews assumed rescue and rescued two occupants,” said O’Brien.
The man and woman rescued from the apartment were taken to the building’s lobby where firefighters and then EMS personnel began medical treatment.
O’Brien said the man in his 70s was vital signs absent before he was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The woman, in her 60s or early 70s, was taken to Sunnybrook Hospital where she is being treated for burns.
Another resident of the building suffered minor injuries, said O’Brien.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by Toronto Fire Services.
“We’re waiting for the Office of the Fire Marshal to attend and both our investigations teams will look into origin cause and circumstance of this fire,” said O’Brien.
The fire was contained to the fourth-floor unit where it took place, and other than some smoke damage in the hall the four-storey building remains opens and residents did not need to be evacuated from their apartments. While the fire took place on the building’s third storey, it is listed as the fourth floor.
“The fire didn’t expand beyond the unit,” said O’Brien. “No other occupants have been displaced.”
He said that early indications of the investigation are that the alarm system in the building was working and alerted residents to the incident.
