3 people injured, 1 seriously in North York apartment fire

Three people were taken to the hospital, including one with serious injuries, following a fire at a high-rise residential building in North York on Sunday.

Toronto Fire Services (TFS) says its crews were called to 35 Park Home Avenue in the city’s Willowdale West neighbourhood just before 11:00 a.m. for reports of heavy smoke on the second floor of the building.

Firefighters discovered a blaze within an electrical room, and crews were forced to remove five residents from the building by climbing out of a second-storey window and then down a ladder due to the heavy smoke conditions in the hallway.

Three people were taken to the hospital, two for smoke inhalation, while a third was taken to a burn centre. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

Firefighters managed to knock down the blaze without any further injuries reported.

However, it may be some time before residents of the building, mostly seniors, are allowed to return to their homes due to the damage done to the electrical components.