Residents of a Richmond Hill condo had quite the scare Tuesday morning after flames broke out on the ground floor.
Hundreds of tenants living at 326
Major Mackenzie Dr. East, near Yonge St., were forced out into the bitter cold at about 4:15am after the blaze began in the kitchen of one of the units. Several floors were evacuated, and some tenants attempted to flee the acrid fumes and thick smoke by climbing out of their main floor apartment windows.
York Regional Police sent dozens of cruisers to the scene to help transport people from the building to nearby police stations for warmth.
A YRT bus was also brought in to protect others from the chill - many were forced to leave without even having the chance to put on a coat.
"The halls were covered in smoke," remarked tenant Gino Pimentel. "You couldn't even see through, you couldn't breathe. That's how thick it was."
And Dusan Militec added, "You had to put wet towels on the nose because the smoke was very dense in the hall."
Several other public transit vehicles including GO buses were used to take evacuees to Hillcrest Mall, which opened its doors early.
A woman named Audrey waiting at the mall described how firefighters rescued her.
"I couldn't open the door because it was all black and smoke," she said. "So the fireman came to the window and said, 'Stay there by the window until we get you, we'll come for you.'"
The fire was put out within a couple of hours.
"Crews made a speedy attack and knocked the fire down," noted Acting Platoon Chief Jeff Hadwen. "We removed occupants from two units."
Two people were taken to hospital. One - a woman in her 50s - remains there in serious condition. The other was treated and released Tuesday afternoon.
Residents were allowed back into the building at about 8:30am. Those living on the ground floor were reportedly being accommodated in the party room until their units were deemed safe.
"What we're doing is looking to make arrangements with Red Cross and our other resources to make sure that they have a place to stay tonight and they're taken care of," promised Richmond Hill Deputy Fire Chief Phil Dawson.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office is investigating.