20 residents displaced after four-alarm fire at building in Little Italy

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of a four-alarm fire early Friday morning in Little Italy, which affected several businesses and left more than 20 people displaced.

Toronto Fire was called to the three-storey building at 615 College Street, between Grace and Clinton Streets, just before 1 a.m. as heavy smoke and flames were seen coming from the rear of the building.

Fire crews fought the blaze on multiple fronts with more than 100 firefighters and 20 apparatus the scene at its peak before finally knocking down the fire around 3 a.m.

“The building was engulfed, crews did an amazing job knocking down the fire and suppressing it,” said division chief Steve Wilson. “Fortunately they contained it to two buildings but it could have easily expanded to more buildings.”

While there were no injuries reported, Toronto Fire says the apartments and some businesses will be uninhabitable for quite some time.

The property is a commercial store front below with residents living in apartments above.

“I was in shock,” said a Ryerson University student who was one of the residents forced to leave due to the smoke and fire. “I was in the living room eating a bowl of cereal and I thought it was fireworks. It wasn’t fireworks, unfortunately. One of the neighbours from the house across from us was screaming ‘fire,fire.'”

“It’s indescribable,” said Nick D’Alessandro, whose restaurant La Forchetta has been a staple in the area for the last two decades. He tells CityNews the building has extensive water and electrical damage, adding the timing of the fire couldn’t have been worse.

“After COVID this is another slap in the face. We were all geared up, I have parties booked.”

The uncertainty of when or if he might be able to reopen again was another issue weighing on his mind.

“I’m not worried about myself but there’s 10 employees here that are going to be out of work for a little while.”

Fire officials say its too early in the investigation to speculate about a cause for the blaze, however, they note there is extensive damage to units in the south side and back of the building.