Toronto Fire charges construction company, condo corporation with fire code violations in Thorncliffe Park fire
Posted March 18, 2026 5:25 pm.
Last Updated March 19, 2026 5:44 pm.
Toronto Fire Services (TFS) has charged a construction company, the condo corporation and the property management company with violations of the fire code in the Thorncliffe Park condo fire that stubbornly burned for weeks, displacing hundreds of residents.
Chief Jim Jessop said a rigorous investigation into the fire found that construction activities were being undertaken at 11 Thorncliffe Park Drive and ignition sources were used near combustible materials, causing the fire to ignite.
Jessop added that Toronto Fire was not notified about the fire until over 30 minutes after it started.
As a result, PFC Construction Inc. is facing multiple Ontario Fire Code charges including failing to protect combustible ignition sources during hot surface applications, failing to conduct fire watch and ensure a fire warning is sounded to alert occupant and notify the fire department, and failing to provide portable fire extinguishers when conducting hot surface applications.
The condo corporation associated with 11 Thorncliffe Park Drive, Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation 956, and their property management company, Dell Property Management Inc., are also facing the fire code violation charge of failing to implement the building’s fire safety plan.
The plan includes contacting the fire department upon activation of the building’s fire alarm system.
All three defendants are scheduled to appear in provincial offences court later this month.
In a statement, PFC said the company has cooperated with every step of the investigation thus far, takes the charges very seriously and will “vigorously defend against these charges.”
The five-alarm fire broke out in Thorncliffe Park on Nov. 27, 2025 and smouldered for weeks before it was finally declared extinguished on Dec. 15, 2025.
The fire started at 11 Thorncliffe Park Drive, but spread to the adjoining tower at 21 Overlea Boulevard.
High carbon monoxide levels were detected, prompting the evacuation of both buildings. More than 400 units were ultimately evacuated before some residents started being let back in stages in January 2026.
Jessop called the fire “unprecedented and extremely challenging” at the time, as crews tried to douse smouldering between the walls of the neighbouring buildings.
That space was only between 25 and 50 millimetres, meaning firefighters couldn’t directly access it.
Jessop said at the time that the gap between buildings was filled with compressed wood material which burns slowly “making progress extremely difficult.”
