Toronto Fire Services: Firefighter Injured during Dufferin Street Fire

Shortly after nine o’clock this morning, our crews arrived at 441 Dufferin Street for working fire. In the course of that fire, one of the members of our first responding crew was overcome by a high level of heat while conducting search-and-rescue operations and was subsequently removed from the building. The information I have is that he was unconscious at the time of being removed subsequently regained consciousness and then was transported very quickly by our colleagues at Toronto Paramedic Services and is now undergoing medical care. We have senior staff at the hospital with the firefighter, the most recent update I have is that he’s been listed in serious but non-life threatening condition so certainly good news for us today.

He’ll continue to receive medical care. I’d like to introduce Deputy Fire Chief JIm Jessop with me. Jim will provide an update on the status of the investigation of the fire. So at this point now as we transition from breaking down fire operations, we are going to transition into the origin cause and circumstances. So the Office of the Fire Marshal is enroute to initiate the post-fire investigation. Toronto Fire Prevention is on scene right now to initiate the post fire inspection. So we will be looking at what caused the fire you know where did it start and you make sure that the building in question uh met all requirements of the Ontario Fire Code, so this will take no certainly a at least the day perhaps a number of days to determine all of those situations. So again we’ll be looking at origin cause and circumstances as the consequences of this fire. Were there any eBike batteries found in there? it is way too early to to start that; we haven’t even had our inspectors- our investigators enter the building yet.

They’re doing their their interview statements, were obtaining building history, we’re doing a exterior photographs. So this is a very scientific and systematic approach, so we will probably not make entry into that building for several hours. Was there an explosion in the building? Can you tell us what that was? Again it’s way too early to start, we haven’t even entered the building yet. So again the key for us right now is this is scientific and systematic. We have to collect our evidence, we have to interview statements, we have to go through our process step-by-step with our partners at the Office the Fire Marshal to make sure that the investigation is is full and complete.

We’ve heard that this is a rooming house with 11 units rented I can’t confirm right now that will form part of our our post fire inspection investigation certainly classification of the building will form a major part of determining what sections of the Fire Code do or do not apply to this building but at this point without entering the building with our inspectors and investigators we can’t comment. What about damage? Again way too early we haven’t made entry into the building.

That will again form part of the investigation. Could there be more bodies in there? No I did not say that. We’ve already done our searches. Right now the investigators and the inspectors have not entered the building yet so there’s absolutely nothing to suggest that there’s anybody else in that building right now. Can you describe to us the rescue operation for the firefighter, how was he pulled out? The reports that the Chief and I received, a mayday was called- extreme heat. They followed their training the fire crews in this area are exceptional what they do and they receive said the the great training the firefighters removed quickly, expeditiously, right to Toronto Paramedic Services and Toronto Police and was transported. So certainly, their training, the equipment and the staffing we had on scene all paid off. Was he rescued from the ground level or the second floor? Right now I don’t have confirmation, I wasn’t on scene at that point.

Inside this building, does it look like it’s sectioned off into a bunch of different bedrooms or rooms? Again we have not been in the building. Our fire inspectors investigators will start making entry over the next couple of hours and at that point we may have further information. But that’s what will all form part of a systematic, comprehensive investigation for origin cause and circumstances surrounding the Ontario Fire Code. Do you have an update on the others that were treated? Sorry? Do you have an update on the others who were treated? The civilians? No update more than the Chief and I had earlier this morning. Two were treated, we were told for minor smoke inhalation. How did those with disabilities escape on their own? I don’t have that information right now What is the age of the firefighter and how many years experience did he have? We don’t have that information right now, this is still a transitioning, and rapid moving scenario and so we still have that information.

Do you have a temperature how hot this fire was? No, we obviously didn’t have our our equipment in there to measure but certainly as the Chief indicated earlier, these types of fires, these types of structures can escalate from several hundred degrees up to a thousand degrees in a very, very quick time period. What could happen medically to a firefighter, I mean it sounds like this firefighter passed out? Again I can’t, I can’t comment anything medical, he’s- all I can say is our colleagues at Toronto Paramedic Services and Toronto Police worked feverishly they got him to hospital he’s- that the Chief said, he’s in serious but non-life threatening situation. And he’s a certainly in a great care right now.

So what about this fire made it so hot? Was it the structure of the building, the size or something inside? Again until our investigators and inspectors get in the building we can’t comment specifically on this but again. You know the Chief made a great point earlier, these types of fires are are not out of the ordinary for Toronto. Uh, and, and with modern furnishings these days with polyurethane and an upholstered furniture, the time the flashover now is in less than six minutes so this is why you know Toronto Fire Service is constantly reminding it’s citizens to make sure you have working smoke alarms so that so that you can exit and this is another reason why we have we have to have no sufficient amount of firefighters on scene in the quickest time period because of the contents in buildings today. Sorry, you said flashover, what does that mean? Flashover is when the all the contents and in a building can reach their flammable and the ignition point.

So again we don’t know what caused it, we don’t know what’s inside the building at this point that will all come out during the inspection and investigation. Did this building have working smoke alarms? Again that will all form part of our investigation inspection we have not been inside to verify that right now. Can we get your name and title and can you spell it for us. Sure. Jim Jessop J-E-S-S-O-P, Deputy chief. Can you tell us-how you combatted this fire after going inside pulling the firefighter out, calling Mayday. What happened after that? Well again with the the crews that we have on scene, we were able to, the crews were able to remove the firefighter quickly while at the same time performing all of their firefighting operations, conducting their primary searches and rescues and suppressing fire as well.

Did you have to fight the fire from outside because you can’t go inside? Uh no, there’s there’s no indication of that right now again we were not on scene at the time it’s certainly the crews did an admirable job under very difficult circumstances and and and and candidly this is what they do every day. Deputy Chief, what goes through the minds of firefighters in the end even though the top brass must be think that’s a fair question for the Fire Chief, the Chief’s on scene right now and and I think, I think that as the as a leader of the organization that’s a question best answered by the Chief.

I can take that, so there, there really isn’t anything that matters more to us than the health and safety and the the welfare both our citizens and of course our firefighters. So this morning this morning was somewhat unique, both Jim and I were enroute with a number of our colleagues to join the Ontario Fire Marshal at the launch of, the launch of Fire Prevention Week was actually the media kick off this morning at station 333. We rerouted from from station 333 to come to this fire as a result of hearing of a mayday. A mayday for us is is about as serious as it gets and when there whenever there is any indication that we have injuries either minor or certainly critical injuries to our firefighters that that’s an absolute top priority for us all. .