Four-Alarm Fire Ravages Cemetery Building Near Highway 404
Posted July 4, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A clear, sunny day gave way to a black and smoky night in one part of the city, when a four-alarm fire broke out at a Toronto cemetery.
The blaze began after the dinner hour inside Highland Memory Gardens near Highway 404 and Steeles.
Thick black smoke could be seen for blocks as the inferno burned and crews raced to the scene.
“Flames were through the roof when our crews arrived,” said Toronto Fire Div. Commander Bob O’Hallarn, who said he expected to be on the scene after dark, even as smoke dispersed.
Fortunately, the flames were isolated to one small stucco structure on the property.
“It’s away from the other buildings,” O’Hallarn added. “But we’re going to have to pull some of this apart before we can completely extinguish it.”
The roof of burning structure collapsed, but nobody was inside or nearby at the time and the flames were reportedly kept from spreading to a large mausoleum also on the premises.
There’s no word on the cause of the blaze, or whether there’s reason to believe it’s ‘suspicious.’
