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6 Alarm Fire @ Queen W & Portland, Already burns down 2 buildings....
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| MKpacha |
Six-Alarm Fire Tears Through Stretch Of Queen West
Wednesday February 20, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
A massive six-alarm fire is raging out of control along a stretch of Queen St. West, and an entire city block may be damaged or destroyed when all is said and done.
Firefighters were called to a building near Queen and Portland, east of Bathurst, just after 5am Wednesday. They immediately rescued several people living inside.
Flames and heavy smoke poured from the structure as crews tried to get the upper hand in a very stubborn blaze that steadily climbed in status from a two-alarmer to a six-alarm fire. Heavy winds were only making the situation worse for the 49 units on scene, as flames spread to neighbouring buildings. Smoke wafted across the city and could be smelled from one end of the downtown to the other.
EMS personnel confirmed they haven't had to treat anyone on the scene, which is incredible given the intensity of the blaze.
Fire crews took a defensive position outside the building as they tried in vain to prevent the flames from spreading.
At last check the fire had spread to four or five other structures through the rooftops. A portion of one building buckled and collapsed at about 7:30am, and there were concerns another, a red brick building housing Suspect Video, might come down.
"We had to pull vehicles back because the walls were beginning to buckle. We're going be here for most of the day. At one point it was totally out of control. We're surrounding the building," Toronto Fire Chief Bill Stewart said, adding that 14 addresses were affected by the fire.
"Primary and secondary searches have been done. People were hanging out of the windows when we arrived on scene shortly after 5am. People were extricated from the building and a secondary search was done."
Firefighters evacuated people from the entire block. They were said to be concerned about possible explosives in one building, and unconfirmed reports alleged that there may have been a drug lab inside.
Queen streetcars are diverting around the area due to power outages and safety concerns.
Fire having major impact on traffic
How Big Is A 6-Alarm Fire?
They're thankfully very rare but they do happen and they force crews to throw everything at them. Here's a look at the varying degrees of a fire.
1st Alarm
2 pumpers, 1 aerial truck, and 1 district chief
If it's downtown or involves a highrise building, a highrise truck is used. If it's a working fire an air supply truck, which provides breathing cylinders, and a heavy rescue squad are called.
2nd Alarm
5 pumpers, 2 aerials, 1 squad, 1 hazardous materials truck, 2 district chiefs, 1 platoon chief, 1 air supply vehicle, and 1 incident command vehicle.
3rd Alarm
8 pumpers, 3 aerials, 1 squad, 3 district chiefs, 1 platoon, 1 air lights, 1 hazard, 1 command vehicle, 1 division commander,
4th Alarm
11 pumpers, 4 aerials, 1 squad, 4 district chiefs, 1 platoon, 1 air supply vehicle, 1 hazardous materials truck, 1 command vehicle, 1 division commander
5th Alarm
14 pumpers, 5 aerials, 2 squads, 5 district chiefs, 1 platoon, 1 division commander, 1 command vehicles, 2 air supply trucks, 1 hazardous materials vehicles, other support staff if needed.
6th Alarm
17 pumpers, 6 aerials, 2 squads, 6 district chiefs, 1 platoon, 1 division commander, 1command vehicle, 2 air supply truck, 1 hazardous materials truck.
7th Alarm
20 pumpers, 7 aerials, 2 squads, 7 district chiefs, 1 platoon, 1 division commander, 1 command vehicle, 2 air supply trucks, 1 hazardous materials. |
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| El K Dee |
| im so in sick of hearing this only on the news....they already saud \everyone is safely evacuated...move on..i need my market news...UGH |
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| MKpacha |
| quote: | Originally posted by El K Dee
im so in sick of hearing this only on the news....they already saud \everyone is safely evacuated...move on..i need my market news...UGH |
:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
whatever.
This is new as a of a few hours, and for those who live down town, important news due to traffic problems, and avoiding the area. Don't be a dick. |
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| exstasie |
| quote: | Originally posted by El K Dee
im so in sick of hearing this only on the news....they already saud \everyone is safely evacuated...move on..i need my market news...UGH |
...Isn't that what BNN is for? |
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| rabbitjoker |
| Stinky and smoky down by my office (King & Brant). |
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| StereoPrincess |
| quote: | Originally posted by MKpacha
6th Alarm
17 pumpers, 6 aerials, 2 squads, 6 district chiefs, 1 platoon, 1 division commander, 1command vehicle, 2 air supply truck, 1 hazardous materials truck.
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holy crap! serious business! |
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| electro88 |
| We can smell the smoke in our office building at work today! |
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| Search&Rescue |
| I knew something was on fire when I was waiting for the subway at the St. Patrick's station to get to work...but faack, this was a couple of a blocks away! |
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| exstasie |
| quote: | Originally posted by electro88
We can smell the smoke in our office building at work today! |
Ppl say they can smell stuff here...
But i can't smell anything (King & York aka St. Andrew's Station) |
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| Jeff Button |
| quote: | Originally posted by exstasie
But i can't smell anything (King & York aka St. Andrew's Station) |
Pretty sure the smoke/smell carried northeast..... I'm at King and Niagara (just west of Bathurst), and I couldn't smell a thing this morning at 8:00. |
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