6-Alarm Fire at Queen & Bathurst

Hope everyone got out alive and the businesses have their insurance paid up. The buildings on this stretch never seemed to be the safest from the looks of them. Sucks to lose more of old Toronto.. I wonder if the Home Depot project will look to buy these lots and tie them into its development.

I hope Ghandi is okay... otherwise im going postal.

Im a firefighter in Hamilton watching the coverage on CITYNEWS. . To all the Toronto Fire Brothers hope that everyone is staying safe .
John Piercy

Wow... that's crazy.
As someone posted in the "Home Depot on Queen Street" post, it's convenient that this is taking place next door to the new Home Depot development.

It makes me very sad to hear that we've lost Duke's. I was in there on Friday and I have always appreciated their knowledge, service and selection.

I will miss suspect video and nicholai's kitchen supply.

Where do they find room for 50 fire vehicles?

On the many streets in the surrounding area, I guess. A long section of Queen is closed. They've closed Bathurst between Dundas and Richmond as well.

Richmond, Bathurst and Queen (all the way to Augusta) were all closed, as well as many side streets. I am guessing the 50 count also includes some smaller support vehicles like those SUVs the fire dept has.

Oh goodness. I was just at Suspect Video a couple days ago.
I miss it already.

Hope everyone gets out safely, and all the store owners had insurance.

The photos are, well, scary for me. Now I'm seeing images of all of Toronto being covered by smoke.

does this mean i don't have to return the 'are we there yet' dvd i rented on monday? suspect's loss will be my gain...

Thats the old Black Market Record Store - It was the hotest shop on the St.... Dodgy Lanlords... what do you expect!!

Really moving photographs. I am struck by the sheer number of overhead lines on Toronto's antiquated streets and what a challenge that must pose to the fire crews on their aerials. Hopefully this block will come back stronger and better after rebuilding.

Now that we've gotten the insensitive "I guess I don't have to return my videos or pay my late fees" jokes out of the way...

I was just at Suspect last night! It will be missed along with a few other stores on that block. I hate seeing any of "old Toronto" lost --the real character of this city. And yes it does seem convenient for the developers now...

Who set the fire? I'll tell you who it was, it was that damned Sasquatch...

I feel badly for the residents of this block.
A Benefit show should be set up to raise funds for those residents who lost their homes.
Suspect Video & National Sound will be missed...such a big part of Queen West.

Wow, these photos are extraordinary. What a loss to the neighbourhood.

It's on the south side of Queen, so places like Ghandi's are safe....No need to go postal. ;)

how frightening. so glad everyone got out okay.

bad thoughts, but after i got over the shock of the news the first thing that sprang to mind was "someone wanted those buildings out of the way for development" remember what happened to the old heritage building at richmond and john where festival hall is now? i'd be interested to see if any of the property owners had been denied zoning applications in the past year or two...

smartygirl, I saw an employee of one of the building owners running around taking pictures this morning. He seemed as surprised as anyone about the fire. j/k

that's the first thing that sprung to my mind too "smartygirl"

Yeah, unfortunately that's what I thought too.

On the other hand these were old buildings that probably had very minimal upkeep. Something was bound to happen someday. It just looks suspicious that it happened now.

Does anyone know if it's out yet?

Wow. This is still going on. We can see it from the windows up here. Crazy fire! It'll be on the news tonight, I saw at least two helicopters filming it.

Looks like arson.

"Russell! Somebody's going to get hurt real bad."

From the TorStar:
"Chemical, biological and nuclear response teams are also preparing for a possible explosion, said Toronto Emergency Services spokesperson Lyla Miller."

um... what?

This sucks, I really hope they don't put in some sort of extended Home Depot douchery in the place of these fallen buildings.

I'm sooooooo sad some of my fave shops are in ruins.
I've been to National Sound many times to peruse his selection of turntables & speakers. I always bought my stylus for my record player from him.
I really hope the record shop is still there.
I believe it's Cosmo records. Chris was always so helpful there. It breaks my heart to think about how much was lost in this fire.
Homes, memories, belongings, records, bikes, vintage electronics and history. So sad. I can't believe what's happened.

some theories that a dug lab was found are now floating around.... from my view i saw some interesting bouts of yellow smoke coming out.

Eventhough I mentioned HD in the first post above, I would be very surprised if they look to expand into this potentially available space. The costs and the delay to the project would likely not justify expense.

Oh, come on. Developers staring fires to get to get pesky independent stores out of their way? Who do you think we're dealing with, Monty Burns, or perhaps Lex Luthor?

The Home Depot developers will not want to re-do their plans, and the city would never let them take that much of a stretch of Queen anyway, relax.

Wow. This block holds many, MANY fond memories for me (my good friend lived at 619 Queen West for a couple of years). I can't believe it's pretty much all gone now.

I remember talking about what would happen if a fire broke out in these buildings. All the attics are connected, so, the fire probably spread extremely quick.

I hope it wasn't arson. But if not arson, what? Stupidity (like falling asleep with a lit cigarette)? Or poor maintenance (faulty wiring)?

Sean Galbraith, it's one team that handles nuclear, bio and chemical hazards. There would be a lot of chemical hazards involved in old building and store inventory burning. It doesn't mean there were nukes on site.

My wife and I lived at 559A Queen Street West for five years. We had our first child in that apartment. Can anyone tell me if it was one of the buildings that collapsed? It was one of three two-story buildings in the middle of the block.

Listening to TFS on my friend's scanner feed... apparently there was a meth lab operating in there.

So sad to see such a large fire happen. So glad to hear of no injuries so far!!

To my fellow EMS crews still responding. Stay safe!!

I've observed that 'historic' buildings get a lot more flammable when property prices are really hot. Saw it in Vancouver a fair bit when I lived there in the 90s. I'm not saying that's what happened here though.

As for the drug lab, that's entirely possible - isn't a grow-op what caused the fire in Kensington not long ago?

Most of Toronto's old buildings seem to be poorly maintained so that sort of thing is almost inevitable. Then again, if I was wanting to sell a bunch of 'historic' buildings to a developer and didn't want to deal with the inevitable public outcry I'd likely rent the units out to the sketchiest characters I could find (by insisting on payments in cash, etc.) and let old wiring do the rest. Again, I'm not saying that's happened this time around.
It's so sad to see; I recently moved away from Toronto but used to hang around that area all the time and went past it nearly every day.

Apparently it is 623/25 that have collapsed.

does this mean i don't have to return the 'are we there yet' dvd i rented on monday? suspect's loss will be my gain...
Posted by: ronnie robbins at February 20, 2008 9:35 AM

-Dude, you win the "Most Callously Insensitive Comment" award.

Arson or not. This fire makes gentrification a whole lot simpler. Are the properties held by multiple owners? Do the tenants have rebuild clauses? Do any of the owners want to get out of the property biz, making consolidation a possibility? So many questions.

From the TorStar:
"Chemical, biological and nuclear response teams are also preparing for a possible explosion, said Toronto Emergency Services spokesperson Lyla Miller."

Well it's a smart response. If the fire touched Ghandi's there would be a chemical and possibly nuclear reaction.

Those Rotis are HOT!

My brothers were currently living at 619 Queen West..they were woken up by smoke at 5:30a and managed to climb out a back window and down the building. They are fortunately safe and unscathed...although we're really worried about their instruments and equipment. They had a rehearsal space for their band in the back of the building and all their intruments (full drum kit, basses, guitars, amps, mics, stands, etc were all back there. After Duke's collapse, it doesn't look good for any of thier things...they were on the second floor, basically sharing the wall with 123.
If this turns out to be some corporate shit, man, hell hath no fury....

Was the building with the dollar store affected - its hard to tell from the photos - I have a friend who lives there.

This is terrible news on all fronts, the residents who most certainly do not have insurance have likely lost all their possessions. The businesses too, they'll be really hard hit and take a ton of energy to recover - a benefit concert is a great idea, I'll do flyers, handbill, poster - my heart goes out to all those affected by this real tragedy.

These buildings were a part of the fabric of the city too --- DUKES --- for crying out loud

I'm now living in Nashville, TN. I spend much of my youth in Suspect. I just wrote my own blog post about how much Suspect meant to me. So sad.

Dave

I worked at Dukes for 10yrs as a mechanic. Feels very strange to have a landmark gone. Thoughts go out to the Gary and the rest of the family.

kate, i'm glad your brothers are okay. i used to live above a shop on queen, and just thinking about how (if?) we would have gotten out is giving me the shivers. god, it seems like half the people i know in toronto either currently or used to live above shops on queen west.

i don't think the issue is getting "pesky independent stores" out of the way - it's getting demolition permits/zoning changes (i.e. for more stories). mind you, the city doesn't seem to care one bit about heritage, if queen between john and augusta is any indication.

there was a huge spate of arson in montreal a number of years ago to clear the way for new development.

or you could do what u of t does, and leave heritage buildings boarded up until raccoons and pigeons do the dirty work for you.

I hope everything goes ok for the business owners. I bought my last bike at Dukes and they were the friendliest people. I also loved that Suspect video, so much memorabilia...

Dilla: Yes, that's sometimes who we're dealing with. It does happen. Sometimes people die.

A real loss for Toronto. I live at King/Bathurst and was shocked to see the smoke this morning.

My heart goes out to everyone that lost homes, businesses, jobs and possessions. Let's get on the benefit thing, stat!

Queen West is not a meth neighbourhood. People in that neighbourhood stick to crack, alcohol and prescription drugs. I highly doubt it was due to a meth lab. Most drugs are made outside the city anyway.

A seven alarm fire destroys a city block, causing unknown millions of dollars in damages. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, but who knows what kind of personal damage was done. Did any pets perish? Heirlooms? Items that can't be recovered?

And here most of you are talking about corporate sabotage. Honestly, try to gain some perspective here.

Every single time something like this happens people like you bring up that question and every single time it turns out to be wrong.

I know it would be nice to be able to blame big business for the destruction of a landmark neighbourhood. It would be much easier to accept that than to accept the thousand other, more likely reasons why it would have happened.

Try to hold off your blame game until more than six goddamn hours have passed.

i'm now living in montreal, but "cut my teeth" for 13 years on that part of queen st... i'm sure i know half the folks affected by this.
if anybody's serious about getting a benefit together to support them, count me in...i'll make my own way there just for a chance to help out!
tom walsh, jazzmanisto
tombone@sympatico.ca

So, it is simply ridiculous or beyond a possibility that a corporation could do this.
See, I'm amazed when people rush to defend corporations, you would get no such help from them.

Unless of course, you'd like to open up a charge account and pay for it...with hidden fees and interest...of course. Now, I'm not saying that's the case, but it is a possibility, and yes, people want answers when people's homes and businesses are destroyed because these things seem to get "swept under the rug and forgotten".

I used to work at Mainstay Housing west of Bathurst on Queen; Duke's regularly donated to our tenants' Xmas party for a couple of years -- one year it was a couple of kids' bikes -- this is a big loss -- will change the neighbourhood

i was at the bovine on sunday O.o
i was gunna buy a new pipe from jupitor next weekend
thats my favourite area in Toronto D:
so many memories T_T
RIP Queen & Bathurst

It was the rats from Dumpling House getting revenge!

Alex, the bovine as well as everything else on the North side of the street is still intact. Is it confirmed the Jupiter is gone?

rian - don't forget pot!

Shut it about the corporate conspiracy angle, dude. And all that nonsense about charge accounts is stratospherically beside the point.

Refocus your energy and volunteer at the Trinity Bellwoods Community Centre or find a way to comfort those who lost their homes and businesses. The witch-hunt mentality isn't useful in the slightest.

We too were listening to the scanners when the police said that it was a meth lab that went up; we suspect it is unconfirmed on the news stations because they haven't necessarily caught the owners of the lab yet so they don't want to make a formal statement until after the police investigations. There were lots and lots of police there too, although I guess that is a given...at any rate, of course it wasn't corporate arson by Home Depot; the risks of getting implicated in something like that alone would keep a well-established company from having anything to do with such an idea and it is ridiculous and cruel to make such baseless assumptions in the wake of such a tragedy without any evidence to back it up.

So Dave, you don't care what could have caused this at all?

What's with all the naive fools on here?
"who do you think we're dealing with, Monty Burns, or perhaps Lex Luthor?"

Why do people always stupidly assume that everyone else has a moral or ethical compass similar to their own?? You seem to protest against even the IDEA of some sort of deliberate fire that might involve insurance or development. Well, in the real world, I mean, the one involving people OTHER than the friends you surround yourself with, these things aren't that abnormal.
Yes, Virginia, some people are MEAN and do awful things for money.
Grow up.

I work at the Wine Rack across the street, I am so sorry for the loss of businesses and especially the residents. I am at home today... my thoughts go out to those most affected.
Regards.

This is getting weird. I admit that the coincidence did make me pause at first, but fortunately reason took over. To suggest that a major corporation would set fire to a couple of decrepit old buildings in modern day Toronto, potentially killing a bunch of people inside, is simply absurd.

Grow up indeed.

Does anyone know who owns the land the buildings sit on? Is it the city? Do the former occupants have any rights to it? In other words, can they rebuild on the same spot?

The Dukes were on the news talking about how they would rebuild.

Union - if it were Home Depot don't you think they would have hit the buildings a bit closer to their development site? I'm always happy to blame the big corporations, but it just doesn't seem to fit here.

Ben: look at Rodrigo Bravo's bottom pic; you can see the intact Jupiter awning, and the completely burnt out roof right above it. Although it isn't entirely conclusive, the smart money's on Jupiter having gone up in smoke.

I can't see blaming Home Depot for this. They are a potential tenant for a planned building. I also wouldn't go so far as to blame Rio Can who is building the new building.

What wouldn't be as surprising would be foul play on the part of the owners of one of the buildings on this stretch, as they would stand to benefit the most. I am not saying that is what happened, but of any foul play this seems to be the most likely.

By the way if anyone hears anything about the when electricity is being restored, please post. Thanks.

Making room for more condos i guess. Was the Big Bop destroyed?

As having lost my own home to fire in the past, my heart goes out to everyone that has been affected by this event. I know the hollow feeling being stuck in the police station wearing the same pair of clothes for far too long, and I wish you all the best. Times like this also remind us of the heroes in our fire departments, EMS, and police departments who make it safe for us to live.

When I lost my home, one of the first things I had to face was speculation as to the cause of the fire, and the looming possibility of financial and legal repercussions. For the sake of those who have lost so much, please keep the speculation in dignified quiet. It's an opportunity to show respect and caring, not blame others and rant about our own bleak outlooks on the human condition. Be kind.

Before insurance or corporate takeover conspiracies, I'd lean towards revenge.

a Lot of people hated Dukes. a Lot of people hated Suspect. Not me necessarily, but a lot of people did. I've known people who were enemies with those businesses.

There was no meth lab around there, it's all apartments. The only place there's ever been a meth lab was above king sol, and it didn't burn...

I'm sad the dollar store burnt, that lady was SO nice. She lost everything. That is so terrible, what a great person she is. I think all the other business owners will be fine, but her I am concerned for.

Terrible thing to happen to a truly great neighbourhood.

However with queen st. recently becoming the outdoor eaton centre, that neighbourhood needs to prepare itself for a few rough years ahead. Keep it together Queen West.

lol. Did I mention Home Depot? Nope.
Anyway Suspect was vacating next month due to bankruptcy.

SCIENTOLOGISTS ARE BEHIND THIS FIRE. WE MUST WORK COLLECTIVELY TO ELIMINATE THEIR DEADLY CONSPIRACY TO DESTROY THE CITY AS WELL AS THE WORLD. ACT NOW!

The Fire Chief was just on CP24 and confirmed that it was NOT a meth lab...whatever the cause, the result is what it is -many people have lost their livelihoods, although thankfully not their lives. I hope that those affected by this tragedy will one day be able to move forward, and I hope the people of Toronto will do what they can to help.

I agree about the dollar store lady - that was a wonderful place where you could find anything. It just saddens me so much when i hear about decent shop keepers losing their life savings and life's work over something that likely could have been prevented (either through maintenance or catching arsonists!!).

Fair enough; that is good to know. My partner and I have been scanning and monitoring the emergency response communications all day between the police and fire crews and they have definitely referred to it concretely as a meth lab numerous times over the course of the day, but if they have now changed their minds, that is great. If it were my home, I would be even more upset if I found I lost everything to a meth lab accident. Does anyone have any suggestions for what we can do to help the victims of the fire?

list of businesses destroyed (from cp24):

* Preloved, a used clothing store,
* Juniper (sic), a head shop, * Suspect Video
* Duke's Cycle, the famous bicycle store,
* National Sound, which has stood for more than 50 years at the location.
* Furniture Room,
* Pizzaiolo,
* Old Times Antiques,
* Cosmos Records and
* Nikolaou Restaurant Supply.

Re: "Scientologists" uhh.... doesn't Xenu use volcanoes and H-bombs? I'm sure the fire was pretty hot, but not THAT hot...

its toronto's 9-11. call it 2-20. a plane did not hit the building. its a conspiracy, folks. it was the american's. they want our water. they have secret pipes under the buildings sucking up all the water from the fire hoses. how else did the buildings burn so long? and what about all the molten metal in the sub-basements? plus, some of those firemen look suspiciously like csis. don't ask me how i know. i have my sources.

ps: look for bricks for sale on craigslist. they will have thermate residue.

Does anyone have any information on how to contact the Trinity Bellwoods Community centre for donations & volunteer stuffs... My google search hasn't been helpful so far. I want to help out somehow.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Big Bop was affected. I say unfortunately because in my opinion it is the ugliest building on that stretch. Irregardless, it was a sad day for that stretch, I recently moved from that area last year and it is sad to see that stretch go down in flames. Sorry to all the people living there.

if you are going to help anyone, help the dollar store lady and local residents. dam, pizziaolo too huh? that guy was also super nice.

I am heartsick. I have lived or worked in the neighbourhood my whole 50+ years. I remember my father bringing me to Duke's for my first pair of skates. Big love out to all the tenants and small business owners who have lost much. The rest of us in the city have as well. Requiem.

trinity bellwood / 416-537-9021

Wow, very moving photos. Well done everybody.
My thoughts go out to the residents, employees and business owners affected by this and of course to the TFD firefighters who do an amazing job every time. Brutal conditions to work in you gotta feel for them.
I for one also really loved that area...when I lived/played in that neighborhood I was ALWAYS in Duke Cycle... Great shop. Hope it comes back in one form or another.

Norm: Please tell me when, in modern Toronto, a major, publicly held company was caught burning down (or conspiring to destroy) city block so it could have a bigger money fight at it's next quarterly meeting.

Where is this coming from, anyway? There's no evidence for any of this. This is just paranoia, and in some ways wishful thinking, i mean, wouldn't it be great it we could just prove these people are as evil and ruthless as we like to think they are?

Sad to see some great heritage destroyed. However, makes you wonder if the landlords will be under closer scrutiny. My feeling is that there are many more derelict buildings that have the potential for this kind of misfortune. My fear is for the people who are living in the area who are struggling as it is. Interesting about the Home Depot. I think I'll leave the conspiracy theories to Jason Bourne!

the Home Depot blame is coming from that corp. not deserving
in any way to be in that neighbourhood in the first place.

Bahahahah! My nefarious scheme to erase my massive debt at Suspect Video has come to fruition!

I just watched CityNews, and the owner of National Stereo said they didn't have insurance. I hope that's an exaggeration and they have something. Sigh. Sad day.

Hugh N (galvanized)nailed it. Blame Home Depot? No. Hate Home Depot? Yeah.

The conspiracy theories are almost convincing... after all corporations do have a lot of money and know how to get what they want and hush any whistle blowers that may get in the way.

The timing is kinda suspicious - the area being recently designated as a historical area... why? Not 100% sure, but likely as a deterrent to keep corporations from waving the rezoning wand so they can build their monstrosities.

Could the landlords have anything to do with this? Maybe.

But then again, it is really cold, someone's faulty heater could be the cause. Maybe a meth lab. Will the real truth ever come out?

Theories aside, my heart goes out to all the people this has displaced, and to Toronto. Gone is another piece of history that made it such a wonderful, unique, and loved city.

559 Queen W is the next block, so don't sweat it dude!!

To the person who said they heard stuff from a TFS frequency, was it a meth lab for sure?

The property in this area is owned by CanReal they are to lease the property to Home Depot. Now that are a designated a heritage site they could not tear down; a big loss to Home Depot and CanReal as they could make HD larger. Hold on let's start a fire then there will be no choice but to tear down. We'll start a rumor that there was a "drug lab" in the area and then we have the property to extend HD.

Look into this you'll be surprised

Heritage my butt.

Just another block of victorian/gothic ugliness protruding on the stark landscape of the cold heart of Toronto;

A cancerous nipple on the breast of Canada.

Whistle Blower: If you're right then there should be a lot of people going to jail. It's not like those buildings were empty. Forget about the contents of the businesses, etc. there were people asleep there who are lucky to have gotten out safely.

If buildings that are designated as heritage sites burn down, then there should be a law forcing the land owners to build something similar in size and function to replace them. After all, if they stay standing then they are protected. Why should there be an "oops it burned down!" loophole that lets owners get rid of old buildings to make room for new developments? They get the insurance money AND a change of land use to something obviously more profitable.

Not saying that's what happened here but it sure does seem like quite a drastic (yet effective) way to skirt around the law. And if they wanted to put the "meth lab" spin on it, it wouldn't be too hard to plant some "evidence" near the spot that the fire was set to tip firefighters off.

Sure old buildings burn down because of accidents, but this whole thing just gives me the jibblies.

You people make me sick.

Yeah, lets force them to re-build Walt Disney-style Main Street-type buildings...And then protect those copies like the real thing until they're 60 years old and they can be protected as authentic Victorian copies! Now that's heritage.

I spoke with the lady who runs the dollar store and she said that the people who ran National Sound actually had a prostitution and drug thingy doing on downstairs. So she says.
It was crazy. This morning I was out watching it and you could barely see anything because the smoke was so strong.
The word on the street is that the police were onto a Meth lab in one of the bulidings and so the druggies blew it up.
Its pretty sad, but I'm happy to know everybody's okay.

Right now Queen and Bathurst must be the safest intersection in Toronto. I was just out and there's TONS of cop cars, undercover cops and surveillance trucks.

Do you people even watch the news, or do you just sit around talking conspiracy theories with your friends? The FIRE CHEIF was live on CP24 at 3:00 this afternoon, confirming that it was not a meth lab, and that the fire had nothing to do with illegal drug activity. I doubt he'd say the things he did if he wasn't certain. Instead of guessing what could have caused the fire, we should really be trying to figure out what we can do as a community to help those who have lost everything. Seriously. Some of you need to grow up and gain some perspective.

whistlblower - why are you even on this site if you hate "cold hearted" toronto so mucH? you should be investing your time with Paula Abdul's "Forever your Girl" - cold hearted snake might cheer you up. You suck.

Perspective gets a little lost at such a gross act of negligence on the part of the insurance companies and landlords, and these poor people paid the price.
Well, I'd say the first criminal act was the insurance companies refusing coverage to these people and telling them it's because they live in a "fire trap". If that were the case, it should have been on the landlord to bring them up to code.
It's like those Max. Capacity signs in clubs, they are there for a reason. People shouldn't be left without options like this. Some people paid a very high price today, and it's beyond sad.

From City News "Cause and Effect" article:

While those who call the area home know nothing can restore the old buildings, the fact that it was a heritage district means something special will take its place.

"Whatever replaces it has to be done with architectural brilliance and hopefully the individual landowners will build what was there before, which was places where new businesses can start, generous apartments for families and they don't go too tall," muses Councillor Adam Vaughan. "So we have the zoning to control what gets rebuilt there, but the first priority is trying to save what's left of the heritage and make sure that we can build with that heritage."
____________________

it's understandable that people are upset and corporations make for easy targets, but really, blazing conspiracy theories aint gonna bring back what once stood. i think what's important right now is that we stand as a community to help those immediately affected by the fire.

the City knows we're all keeping a tight watch on the future of Queen West and if they are smart they'll know community engagement through the redevelopment phase is key...

anyway, please please if anyone come across events/funds set up or can use a helping hand in organizing, let us know!

i heard the big bop was burned down to?

Well if properties taxes weren't so high maybe upkeep of the buildings would be possible ...Hey Miller maybe this fire is part your fault!

Heather - thanks for a list of stores that were affected. The firefighters deserve hot chocolate from Suser. Where is the benefit this weekend? I hope Mayor Miller makes sure the tenants and businesses get first pick on the new leases, (low rent & not available to corporations).

I still do not understand why people would not obtain insurance on their contents in a rented space.

I work in the claims dept for a large insurance company and i know for a fact that the max you will pay for 50K worth of contents is $35/month..

Also included in the price is additional living expenses during the time after the loss. (hotel .. Food etc)

Please please please....Renters...Purchase some kind of insurance to help you out in times like this !

This is a huge tragedy for Toronto and especially the downtown core. We have lost a huge chunk of culture in a dying region of H&M's and American Apparels.
I remember coming down to the Queen and Spadina to Queen and Bathurst strip when I was a kid. I now live at Queen and Bathurst and work at Queen and Spadina.
These buildings meant allot of things to allot of people and created a sense of community in a diverse neighborhood.
Instead of focusing on who to blame, lets refocus that energy on helping those people who lost everything but their lives today! Thankfully NO ONE died today and no pets did either!! Firefighters saved 3 Dogs and 2 Cats!
The Toronto Fire Department did a great job on containing this blaze. This could have spread a heck of alot more!

I am sure that the trinity bellwoods community and rec center will be helping out everyone in this area.

Trinity/Bellwoods Community Recreation Centre
155 Crawford Avenue
416-392-0743

Well said George!
It's amazing that the entire corner wasn't taken out.

I have warm memories of sitting outside of Duke's doors at 3am just hanging out with some good people in the summer times. This is a difficult loss for Toronto, but we MUST focus on helping those that have lost their homes, their belongings, their precious good.. where will they sleep tomorrow?
Open your hearts to them -- they really need us right now!

I look forward to hearing about the community centre opening their doors this week to everyone in need :)

Be strong - it could have been worse.

*Sniff* Cosmos Records!!! gone!! :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

these are some of the most sad, powerful and beautiful pix I've seen on BlogTO....

Good Point about the Home Depot development. I wouldn't put it past a Smart!Centre type to pull off an arson hit.

Has there been a comprehensive list of all business affected by this blaze posted anywhere? If so, can someone please cross-post a link to it?

Thx - V

I'd be very surprised if the National Sound was a front. Last time I went in there, it was this old man whose eyesight was so bad, I had to put the needle on my record player.

Please please please....Renters...Purchase some kind of insurance to help you out in times like this !
Posted by: Randy at February 20, 2008 11:02 PM

- Apparently Randy, some of those people DID try to get insurance, they were turned down because the building was a "fire trap". So. you may want to plead with the insurandce companies as to a reason why they refused those people...and how they can sleep at night now.

"I have warm memories of sitting outside of Duke's doors at 3am just hanging out with some good people in the summer times. "
- You won't be doing that if a large retail store moves in, they'll have security/the cops on you for loitering. It won't be your neighborhood anymore.

GOD BLESS OUR FIREMEN AND WOMEN!!!

Steve

I have never heard of contents insurance for tenants being refused due to the building being a "firetrap".

Perhaps for commercial coverages ..maybe..and that is a big MAYBE....as there are high risk carriers that will offer coverages.

None the less my heart goes out to those effected.

I think we should all boycott the new Home Depot regardless of whether or not they are complicit in this mess.

This is another sad day for a city that doesn't have many historical buildings. I feel so sad for all those who lost their homes and businesses. This is a tremendous loss for the neighbourhood and the city at large. I hope the community and the city rally around those in need so this area can rebuild and look forward to a vibrant future.

No insurance!? Well, at least we know National Stereo didn't start the fire.

Is ali baba's toast!?!?!?

i hope not!

Lexy, the daughter of the man who owns National Sound, apparently posted on Spacing. She denied the fire started in their store and alledges it started in Suspect.

This is just so sad. I just came home from Seattle after being gone for six months. I recently commented how everything is changing so quickly and now this. So sad. I really hope they don't rebuild something out of character with the neighborhood. queen street makes toronto.

i think i see the face of satan in one of the smoke pictures !!! :O

Really people, I'm sorry for the business owners - my heart goes out to the folks at Suspect in particular because I am acquainted with them, but let's not fool ourselves here. This was an ugly corner, with very little historic value or value to present day Toronto that cannot be replaced. Let's wake up and not cry over an ugly decrepit stretch of buildings burning down. Now here is a chance to make it better.

About the fire on Queen West, someone in the elevator said it looked like a bomb exploded and I asked him if he thinks it was and he said no that he heard it's possibly an illegal drug lab(oratory). I asked which building had the fire first and he said Duke's.

This morning at the elevator, two men were talking about the fire on QW and one said that it looks like a bomb exploded and I asked if he thinks it was and he said no, he heard it's from a drug lab. I asked which building had the fire first and he said Duke's.

The real tragedy is the potential loss of all the Vinyl at COSMOS - Toronto's (actually Canada's) best used record store. I'm still hoping that most of them can be salvaged.

Having started my business only 1 block away in 1992, I have long feared for the safety of the buildings in question and others in the neighbourhood. Being designated historical is not always a boon to property owners. It severly restricts their ability to maintain their property at a reasonable price, by placing undue restrictions on their ability to maintain and remodel properties. It has been much the same the world over. When Londons historic Whitechappel was designated historic the property owners simply let the buildings fall into such disrepair that they had to be demolished or abandoned. So much for preserving history. Its all about the economy.
To all my friends who owned and lost their business' I will be thinking of you.
Ace

I've lived on Queen West for 14years and I'm heart broken. I can't imagine how the lifers on that stretch feel. I think the property to be should be limited in height and be divided by the same property lines. We still have the Borough's building to stabalize us all.

I work for a major Insurer and we most certainly DO deny coverage to properties who can't/don't comply with modern building and safety standards. Why on earth would we cover landlords who won't bring their buildings up to speed? We may as well hand them $1,000,000!!! To put it plainly, these buildings were extremely high risk - any company would be crazy to insure them. And, I'm sorry to offend those who have lost everything, but anyone who knows there is no insurance and continues to operate a business or live there is also crazy.

If anyone suddenly does purchase these properties, they (They Purchasers, and Shell Companies they could possibly own) should undergo heavy scrutiny by a Government body outside of the City of Toronto.

Businesses that have been around for years have recently closed around that area. Those actions state that there logically would be some mechanism behind these closings..

Keep an eye on this one...

Fuck! that was one of the last remaining 'real' Queen west blocks. I grew up across the street above taro grill when it was a flower shop. Now its just going to turn into fancy clothes shops with giant windows or future shop.

I used to

I used to live on top of those stores years ago and I could not afford apt insurance because the insurance people said it was high risk for theft and fire so as a struggling artist I never shelled out for insurance. It breaks my heart that it is likely all the residents lost everything they owned in the middle of cold february.

There is now a trust fund set up for victims affected by the fire:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_19841.aspx

Anybody know how much of the remaining block of buildings will need to be torn down for structural safety concerns? What a horrible loss.

It is devastating what has happened to the historical buildings along Queen West. My family has lived three generations in the Queen and Bathurst area and remember stores back in the 40s and 50s. Our hearts go out to everyone, as a piece of Queen has been lost forever. Every cloud has a silver lining and that silver lining is the strong community that exists in this area. We hope to see Duke Cycle, National Sound and other business back on Queen St for future generations to enjoy. Many of the small buinesses along Queen St including National Sound offer some of the best service that HOME DEPOT will never match.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21947378120&ref=mf

Duke's Cycle on facebook...

The fire actually started in the apartments above National Sound.

I lived at 619A until three weeks ago when I moved to the West Coast. My friends were all still living there and SO MUCH has been lost. I had left furniture to be sold and it is gone and my fish was there who is gone :(. My girlfriends lost ALL of their clothes, ALL of their furntiture and countless artifacts from world travel and life in general that will never be replaced. This was my home, Queen West was my neighbourhood, seeing this take place from the other side of the country is so hard. I want to be there to pay proper respects and help my friends. There are events happening all over the city to raise money. Clothes can be dropped off at Essensuals Hair Salon on South side of Queen just east of Bathurst. This is devistating, no one had insurance, everything is gone. I will be on the first plane to Toronto if there is any talk of Home Depots or Condos... We can't let Queen West lose its flavour! I miss my home :(

ps. I am glad your brothers are okay. I know them and the amount of equipment they had in the building, hope something can be done to help them get some of it back.

I hear that Theatre Passe Muraille is going to host a benefit party for those affected in the community in early March.

More details to come.

Check out phot art from prior to the fire
http://www.kevinsteele.com/110204_queenbathsouth.shtml

That's a drag with what went down,I used to work the door at the ZOO Bar across the street....No Human casualties that's what is important.

I want to send all my condolenses to everyone who was affected by the fire. Thank goodness no one was hurt or lost any lives.

I would like to raise a few points....There was a meth lab, but the cause of the fire had nothing to do with the meth lab. Also that the findings to what caused the fire is undetermined and will probably take a few weeks to a couple of months to find what unfortunatly caused the fire.

I do not know if anyone remembers the other fire that also happened on Queen Street near Shereborne. The paint store that went up in flames. Well that was a seven alarm fire and the OFM are still trying to figure out what caused the fire there.

I find it ironic how the two different areas on Queen Street both go up in flames early in the morning, when there is no one around to see how they started or who was there when it started.

Anyways I hope that everyone who lost so much in the fire find a way to peice back their lives together. God Bless all of you and I hope that the OFM will come to a conclusion so the gossip about what is ironic and seems funny ends and people can move on with their lifes.
-RMAMSD-

All my thoughts are with those who have lost something because of this fire. Whether they were store owners, residents or people who have fond memories of the area. Being a victim to fire is a terribly hard thing to bounce back from. I hope anyone who has the means to help these people out does so! Thanks Joe for posting the pictures of the strip pre-fire (just two entries up from this). It puts things into perspective.

i'm for anything that keeps the crack heads and other riff-raff out of the area! the more corporate businesses show up, the less crack and poor losers

Hi there, this was very hard to watch :( and for the people who lost everything, my heart goes out to you and your families.

I have some clothing that I would love to give to someone who lost everything in the fire. anyone intrested or know of anyone who needs it? it's free to take :) and it will keep you warm through the cold winter.

prayers and many thoughts

February 28, 2008

Dear Queen St. West Business Owners and Residents,

I was sorry to hear of the catastrophic damage you suffered in the recent fire. I have shopped at many of the stores that were impacted in your neighborhood. I work for a lighting company and I would like to help with the reconstruction, specifically lighting renovations.

Our company specializes in residential lighting fixtures. We have many styles to choose from and even some older discontinued models and samples that we would be willing to donate. Please see our website for more information and for a list of products available for donation please contact me.

Best wishes getting back on your feet.

Regards,

Ryan Clark
Sales and Marketing Support Ex. 31
Email: ryanclark@ramlighting.com
www.ramlighting.com

im going to miss my ocasional shopping spot at "preloved" :(

I am going to miss that piece of Toronto:( I trust there going to build something spectacular in it's place!

My name is Jonathan Ursini, co-founder of lovethatinterior.com
our website is currently giving away a $15,000.00 room package on July 1/08.*NO purchase neccassary*, all we need is your email to confirm. Spread the word:)

God bless our city

Jonathan Ursini

Thurs March 6 - Funhaus - Queen West Fire FUNdraiser

Funhaus is one of the lucky businesses on the North side of Queen West that was unscathed by the fire. It is now time to help our neighbours in the best way we can by doing what we do best; throwing a party to help raise funds. Funhaus puts the FUN in FUNdraiser.

Lets show Toronto how Queen Street can band together to help their own during this time of tragedy. Please bring donations of money for the Queen Street Relief Fund. Please note: we DO NOT need anymore clothing donations.

Please spread the word through emails, facebook, myspace, livejournal and newspapers.

Thursday March 6, 2008
Queen Street Fire Fundraiser
Funhaus - 526 Queen St West
9pm-3am 19+
http://www.djlazarus.com

Mainroom: DJ Lazarus, Dwight, DragNFly, & Woodstock (retro, electronic, alternative, britpop)

The Preloved folks have set up a temporary shop just around the corner from where their flagship store (of 13 years) used to stand:

24 Ryerson Avenue, basement suite (416-703-1936)
Mon - Wed (by appointment)
Thurs - Friday (12-7pm)
Sat (12-6pm)

Even if you're not a regular customer, drop by and say hello to the gals with your words of encouragement and support. :)

" Thankfully NO ONE died today and no pets did either!! Firefighters saved 3 Dogs and 2 Cats!"

Actually.. my friend's rabbit died and they don't know if their cat got out or not, the smoke was so thick that they couldn't find her and left the back door open in hopes she was able to find her way out.

I guess 165 Bathurst burnt down? It was such a wonderful building... I do however setting the roof on fire with a misplaced cigarette about 4-5 years ago... but somebody caught it and with a few buckets of water we were able to get it under control...

You'd be surprised how fast something can get out of hand...

Arson... Meth lab... and all the other reasons people are giving... whatever... it was probably an accident... they do happen...

Very sad...