No evacuation needed as Toronto fire chief confirms cause of Thorncliffe Park blaze
Posted May 5, 2026 9:17 am.
Last Updated May 5, 2026 1:45 pm.
Toronto Fire Services provided an update Tuesday on the latest fire at 11 Thorncliffe Park Drive, where crews have been battling a stubborn blaze in the same condo complex that burned for weeks last year.
Firefighters were called to the high‑rise around 11:30 a.m. Monday morning, after flames were discovered on the seventh floor, burning inside the narrow wall cavity between 11 Thorncliffe Park Drive and the neighbouring tower at 21 Overlea Boulevard.
Fire Chief Jim Jessop and Kamal Gogna, the City’s Chief Building Official, briefed the media on the firefighting response, building conditions and the status of residents affected by Monday’s incident.
It’s the same structural gap that fuelled the November 2025 five‑alarm fire, which smouldered for 18 days, displaced hundreds of residents and led to multiple fire code charges against the condo corporation, property management and a construction company.
“Tenants will not be evacuated,” Jessop confirmed on Tuesday. “We will not be disrupting their lives at this point… especially what they went through at the end of 2025.”
Cause of latest fire at Thorncliffe Park Drive revealed
Jessop said the fire was caused by sparks from a saw used by workers to cut through concrete in a unit on the seventh floor of the high-rise, which ignited the insulation.
“The contractors did everything they should have when the fire started,” Toronto’s fire chief noted. “I want the residents to understand that [sparks from saws] is the cause of the fire.”
On Monday, residents were told to shelter in place as crews monitored air quality for smoke and carbon monoxide. No injuries were reported, and TTC buses were staged outside for anyone who chose to leave.
“I do not have a timeline [on when the fire will be extinguished],” Jessop acknowledged. “Unfortunately, it will be on a day-by-day basis again. I will say we are in a much better place than we were at the end of 2025 because of lessons learned, and those lessons were immediately implemented yesterday as part of the action plan.”
Gogna said that as a result of the newest fire, all remedial work at 11 Thorncliffe Park Drive will be paused indefinitely, and a construction management plan has been requested from the property manager.
“The engineers’ report must outline how the remedial work will be conducted safely,” he said. “Until that report is received… the work cannot continue. The timeframe for continuation [of] remedial work is something we cannot advise on.”
