Demolition Of Historic Building Aids Criminal Investigation

As the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office and Toronto police looked on Thursday, work crews demolished the third floor of a historic downtown building destroyed by fire.

Because the structure was unsound and the weather uncooperative, investigators had not been able to get inside since Monday, when 32 fire trucks and 125 firefighters responded to the six-alarm blaze around 4am.

“We have to look at the debris. We also have to check the rest of the building … to make sure there’s nobody else inside,” said Fire Marshal’s Office supervisor Bill Hiscott.

“It’s basically frozen, so they’re having to use the heavy machinery to loosen it up to bring it down.”

Although investigators have not yet determined the cause, they are considering arson and have obtained a search warrant.

The site of the former Empress Hotel at Yonge and Gould streets has been vacant since last April 16, when a construction worker removed a doorway support and part of the north wall collapsed.

Lalani Group, which owns the property through a numbered Ontario company, had applied to demolish the structure, but the city voted instead to protect it with a heritage designation.

Local councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam had scheduled a meeting for next week to plan the building’s renovation.

Yonge Street, between Dundas and Gerrard, is still closed to traffic although pedestrians were allowed access to the west side on Thursday afternoon.

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