Fire continues to burn between two highrise buildings in Thorncliffe Park, six months after a similar fire in the same location displaced hundreds of people for 15 days.
There’s no timeline yet for when the blaze affecting both towers will be doused, Toronto Fire Services (TFS) said on Tuesday.
Fire crews responded to the Thorncliffe Park area just after 11:30 a.m. on Monday, said Toronto fire Chief Jim Jessop at a news conference Tuesday morning. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, a total of 88 Toronto fire trucks had been dispatched to the incident, and 15 were on scene, according to TFS.
No one was injured and residents have not been evacuated because it’s still safe for them to stay in the building, said Jessop.
“We have no intention of disrupting their lives at this point, especially given what they went through at the end of 2025,” he told reporters.
On Nov. 27, a fire started at the same two buildings, burning through flammable particle board placed between two concrete walls that connect the structures. The blaze wasn’t extinguished until Dec. 15 and a total of 408 units had to be evacuated before residents were later gradually allowed to return to their homes.
On Monday, the material between the walls caught flame again, Jessop said. This fire started while repair work was being done on the building in a seventh floor unit, during an attempt to cut through one of the concrete walls to remove the combustible board. Jessop said sparks from a saw caused the material to catch fire.
“There’s still a lot of it in there from the original fire that had not caught fire,” Jessop said. He said the access points used to battle the first fire are still open and crews now have a better idea of how to approach it.
“I will say that we are in a much better place than we were at the end of 2025 because of lessons learned,” Jessop said. He said crews will be on site until the blaze is put out.
“I will not commit to a time frame,” Jessop said. “It would be irresponsible of me and it would be unfair to the tenants.”
Restoration and repair work on the building has been ordered to stop immediately, said Kamal Gogna, the chief building official and executive director of Toronto Building. That includes efforts to remove the flammable material and fill gaps with firestopping product.
He said the property management company’s engineers have been ordered to come up with a new construction management plan to ensure work can go ahead safely. The plan will be reviewed and approved by the city, before any construction can start up again, said Gogna.
“The safety of residents and the workers, along with first responders, remains our top priority,” said Gogna.
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He said he does not know how long it will take before the report is complete.
After the location’s first fire, charges were laid on the condominium corporation, its property management company and a construction company for violations of the Ontario Fire Code.
Jessop said no additional charges will come as a result of Monday’s fire.
Rachel Chernos Lin, city councilor for the area, said the Thorncliffe Park community is resilient, but it’s been a difficult time for them since the fire in November and it’s important they get the support they need.
“You can only imagine the traumatic experience of people seeing this happening again,” she said.
