Fire investigators are looking into arson as a possible cause of
Thursday night's devastating blaze in Kensington Market.
"We have had a rash of fires in this division so we can't rule out anything at this point," said Ontario Fire Marshal Mike Ross.
Live wires came crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks as the flames broke out at about 8pm. There are indications the fire may have spread from a small unoccupied structure in a backyard on Fitzroy Terrace, near Kensington and Dundas.
"The building itself is actually behind one of the street addresses and it looks like it's a shed put in the backyard of someone's home," reveals Capt. Adrian Ratushniak.
Investigators are picking through the rubble in the hopes of finding some indication as to where the blaze started and what caused it.
"All we have is a fire that's been contained in one unoccupied structure," adds Ross. "A portion of the roof is collapsed into the interior of it. Right now we really can't even say where the fire started until portions of the roof have been taken out and moved."
Five houses had to be evacuated and dozens of firefighters were called out to battle the blaze. Making their already challenging job even tougher was a lack of water hydrants in the area as well as the neighbourhood's narrow streets.
"We used to have specialized trucks that could get into smaller neighbourhoods," noted Coun. Adam Vaughan, who represents the Trinity-Spadina ward. "But since amalgamation we've gone to one-size-fits-all solutions and it's not the fire department's fault. The trouble is that when an ambulance or a fire truck or a garbage truck tries to get in, one size does not fit all.
"This fire, in one of the most difficult spots to put a fire out, was put out very quickly with the loss of only one house and no lives. That's a testimony to the expertise of the department."
It took crews two hours to gain control of the fire and three hours to fully put it out.
It's estimated there was $350,000 in damage. Fortunately there were no injuries.
Officials aren't sure yet if they're dealing with an arsonist, and if they are, whether it's the
same firebug that's suspected of setting blazes in other parts of the city's west end over the summer months.