queen and sumach toronto

Toronto fire crews take down massive blaze at Queen and Sumach

A four-alarm fire filled portions of the sky over downtown Toronto with smoke this morning as emergency responders attempted to put out the dangerous, raging blaze at Queen and Sumach Streets.

Toronto Police say that a fire was first reported around 9:15 a.m. at a "building under construction."

Queen Street East was immediately closed off to traffic, pedestrians and public transit vehicles, which continue to detour via Broadview Avenue, Dundas Street East and Parliament Street.

The fire was declared "under control" around 10:30 a.m., but crews remain on-scene as they investigate the cause of the blaze.

People from all over the city could see smoke rising up from the fire on Tuesday morning, and shared footage of black plumes above Toronto's Corktown neighbourhood via Twitter and Instagram.

Flames could be seen shooting forth from the roof of the two-storey townhouse complex at some points.

Some locals got quite close to the scene, capturing photos of Toronto fire crews hard at work. 

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg confirmed its location as 473 Queen Street East.

This is notable for several reasons. The first being that a massive fire broke out on the same southwest corner of Queen and Sumach in 2018, damaging several buildings.

The second reason is the advanced age of the main building involved in this morning's fire — 143 years old.

While not officially a designated heritage site, the townhouse complex at 473 Queen Street East was built in 1877. A plaque on the building identifies it as "Davies Terrace."

Fortunately, Toronto Fire has confirmed that nobody was injured in the blaze.

The building, on the other hand, appears to have sustained extensive damage.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Lead photo by

Nathan Barker


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