Danforth Tech fire was arson, police say
Posted April 27, 2012 4:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Wednesday morning’s fire at Danforth Collegiate & Technical Institute in East York was arson, police told CityNews on Friday.
Police said a criminal investigation with the fire marshal’s office is underway.
Danforth Tech at 800 Greenwood Ave. remains closed and students have been attending classes at other schools during the cleanup and investigation.
The Toronto District School Board’s health and safety manager Chris Broadbent told CityNews there was no immediate time frame for when the school would be reopened.
“The school still hasn’t been released to us. It’s still under investigation by the fire marshal’s office,” he said.
“We can’t do much until they’ve released it back to us.”
“There’s a fair amount of smoke damage and glass breakage that we have to deal with.”
The school must also undergo air quality testing before it can be deemed safe.
Broadbent said all teaching staff would meet on Monday morning to discuss future plans.
In the meantime, students who have been taking classes at Eastern Commerce Collegiate, Monarch Park Collegiate and Wilkinson Junior Public School are being advised that classes will begin at 12:25 p.m. on Monday to accommodate the staff meeting.
No students or staff were injured during the three-alarm blaze, but a fire captain had to be treated for heat exhaustion. He was released from hospital later that same day.
Firefighters credited teachers for getting students out safely before they arrived.
The fire began around 10:30 a.m. in the school’s drama room.
