Fire continues to ‘smoulder’ at Thorncliffe Park apartment complexes, City says

A fire at two neighbouring apartment complexes in Thorncliffe Park continues to burn with displaced residents still uncertain when they can return home.

The five-alarm fire broke out on Nov. 27 at 11 Thorncliffe Park, and eventually spread to a neighbouring building at 21 Overlea Blvd. High carbon monoxide levels were detected, prompting both buildings to be evacuated.

“This continues to be a complex situation as it continues to smoulder,” a City of Toronto spokesperson said in an emailed statement to CityNews on Friday.

Last week, Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop said the “unprecedented and extremely challenging fire” was contained in a tight space between the two buildings.

“Despite continuous efforts, it remains active,” Jessop said at the time. “The fire is burning deep inside a narrow gap where the two buildings meet. This space is so tight, between 25 and 50 millimetres, that firefighters cannot directly access it.”

Jessop noted that the gap between buildings is filled with compressed wood material which burns slowly “making progress extremely difficult.”

In the latest update from the City, the spokesperson said there’s no timeline as to when residents can safely return to their units.

“We know it will not be until at least next week as fire suppression is still ongoing. Our priority remains ensuring residents can return to their homes as soon as it is safe to do so,” the statement reads.

Nearly 400 residents have been living out of hotels since the evacuation.

It’s not yet known how the fire started. Last week, Jessop said the investigation could take months to complete.

With files from Michael Talbot, CityNews