71 units severely damaged in major Vaughan fire: deputy chief
Posted April 13, 2023 2:36 pm.
Last Updated April 13, 2023 2:49 pm.
Vaughan’s Deputy Fire Chief confirmed on Thursday that 71 units were damaged in the significant fire that rapidly spread in the York Region city yesterday.
Firefighters and other emergency crews were called to a scene at Heathcote Road and Kinburn Crescent near Teston Road and Pine Valley Drive just after 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
Initial reports at the scene established that over 30 units were destroyed, most under construction and uninhabited. Except for minor burns, no serious injuries were reported in the aftermath.
Vaughan Deputy Fire Chief Grant Moffatt told CityNews on Thursday that 71 total units were damaged in the fire.
“[They] range from single homes, detached homes to multi-units — residential townhouses, that style of complex,” Moffatt said. “Also, a basement was set with a first floor only.”
A City of Vaughan spokesperson tells CityNews that the 71 units included 32 single detached homes, 21 townhomes, and 16 units that were classed as fire breaks, which are purposely designed to limit the spread in case of a fire.
Two firefighters sustained minor injuries and were treated.
Moffat says some homes were being bricked, and others were standing wood structures. Fire officials have not yet confirmed the dollar amount of buildings ravaged in the daytime blaze.
“We’re working with a developer and other partner agencies to determine the dollar loss,” Moffatt added. “You had [units] that could have been occupied in the fall, with others occupied at the end of the year.”
CityNews 680 airborne traffic reporter Kyle Hocking flew over the scene in Chopper 680 at the time of the fire and said six new streets were built with homes on either side in various stages of construction.
The cause of the extensive fire is still being investigated.
With files from Patricia D’Cunha of CityNews
