TORONTO FIRE DEPARTMENT / IAFF LOCAL 3888 FGS TRAINING SAVE – JANUARY 4, 2011

"We practice this for a reason. What went through my mind was it's very scary; but I also know that if we keep our composure and do what we are trained to do we will be successful at it and we were successful the

other day – it's very gratifying to see that 2nd helmet come up over the wall." Acting Captain Peter Atkins, Toronto Fire Department, IAFF Local 3888

Radio Transmission from Toronto: MAYDAY starts at 13:00 minutes http://www.youtube.com/user/firefighterdispatch

Video - CityTV http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/video/106415 Firefighter Training Exercises January 05, 2011 How Toronto's finest prepare themselves for massive blazes like Monday's 6 alarm blaze that injured five firefighters. ************************** Video - CTV Toronto: Austin Delaney on the dramatic rescue: http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110105/yonge-street-fire-criminal-investigation-110105/20110105/?hub=TorontoNewHome

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Video - CP24: http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110105/110105_fire_rescue?hub=CP24Home Crews demonstrate life-saving rescue from Monday's blaze Wed Jan. 05 2011 11:05:45 AM Toronto firefighters showed how they rescued two of their own during a mayday call at Monday's six-alarm blaze downtown that destroyed a heritage building. The large fire destroyed a historic building at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets near Ryerson University. During the blaze, two fire fighters had to be rescued after falling from a neighbouring roof, prompting an intense 30-minute search. In the rescue, the person being removed performs a bear hug around a hose lowered in to the spot where the firefighters were trapped. The hose is then pulled by two people on either side to lift the rescue subject - weighing about 200 lbs with all their gear - clear from danger. Toronto Fire's Brad Goodwin says extra firefighters were called to help lift out the people that were trapped in Monday's blaze. "The guys had a lot of work to do," Goodwin says. The pair were not badly hurt in Monday's fire, were finally located on the upper floor and taken to hospital for observation before being sent home. ************************************ Video – Toronto Sun http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/05/16775576.html#/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/05/pf-16775136.html Mayday call terrified fellow firefighters January 5, 2011 20:30 From Toronto Sun When two Toronto firefighters disappeared into the smoke and flames of a fire ravaged century-old building on Yonge St. early Monday, their comrades initially feared the worst. ***********************************

Firefighters prepared for mayday By CHRIS DOUCETTE, Toronto Sun Last Updated: January 5, 2011 8:50pm When two Toronto firefighters disappeared into the smoke and flames of a fire ravaged century-old building on Yonge St. just before dawn Monday, their comrades immediately feared the worst. But instead of panicking upon hearing the dreaded “mayday, mayday, mayday” over the radio, firefighters outside the building relied on their training to snatch the duo relatively unscathed. “It was terrifying,” Capt. John Welsh said Wednesday at the services’ training facility in Scarborough where firefighters regularly practice rescue techniques. “As soon as any kind of a mayday comes in, you’re thinking the worst and you want to do what ever you can.” When the 4 a.m. fire erupted in the once prominent Empress Hotel at Yonge and Gould Sts., the two firemen in question were among about 125 firefighters who raced to the scene. The pair battled the blaze from the next-door rooftop of HMV when they slipped and fell about two stories down into the burning building. A dramatic recording of the ensuing mayday call can be heard on YouTube. And members of the media were shown first-hand at the Bermundsey Rd. training centre on Wednesday how firefighters sprang into action and rescued their co-workers using what they had at their disposal — a fire hose. The hose was lowered to the trapped firemen who stepped on it like standing on a skipping rope. Then, as they hugged the two ends of the hose and clasped their hands together in front of their chests, fellow firefighters yanked them out of the inferno. “When we made the decision to do what we did, everybody was fully engaged and understood what needed to be done,” firefighter Peter Atkins, who participated in the rescue effort. “That’s why it was as successful as it was.” Atkins also happens to be an instructor of rescue and survival techniques, which increased the odds of success.

“There was lots of water spraying ... all around us, there was smoke, there was flames, and there two guys down in the fire,” Atkins said. “The reality is they had fallen into a fire pit, but our training paid off.” The two firefighters suffered only minor injuries. chris.doucette@sunmedia.ca http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/05/16775576.html ************************************ Bravery, strength, quick thinking lead two firefighters to safety Published On Wed Jan 5 2011 Toronto Star - Curtis Rush, Valerie Hauch and Jayme Poisson Staff Reporter

A firefighter is on a stretcher is taken to an ambulance on Monday, Jan. 3, 2010, at 335 Yonge St., where a six-alarm fire gutted the building. CURTIS RUSH/TORONTO STAR Strength, courage and quick thinking under pressure guided two firefighters to safety after they fell into a wall of flames and thick, black smoke during the six-alarm blaze at Yonge and Gould Streets early Monday morning. Just after 4 a.m., as flames shot above the old, abandoned Empress Hotel, two firefighters tried to navigate the icy roof of the adjoining HMV building. It was so cold that many firefighters’ uniforms were covered in ice. Rows of icicles caused by streams of water shooting from five aerial water canons hung off their visors.

Just before 5:30 a.m., the two firefighters on the roof lost their balance and fell five metres into the burning building. One suffered a back injury; the other was almost overcome with smoke. “Your heart drops right down. You can’t pick it up off the floor,” said division commander Lorne Buckingham of the incident. The fallen firefighters radioed “Mayday, Mayday.” A rapid intervention team was deployed. Firefighters who came to their aid had lost sight of their colleagues but were able to keep in radio contact with them. Fire Chief Bill Stewart described it as a “very intense time,” and “very horrific” for the firefighters. With so much urgency, the team didn’t have time to drop a ladder. Instead, they used a risky maneuver called the “Through the Roof Hose Line Rescue.” They dropped a 38-millimetre fire hose line filled with water down to the trapped men. The water-filled hose formed a U-shape, with one loop coming up on the other side of the building. One by one, the firefighters stood on the bottom of the hose and gripped the hose line on each side of the “U.” “It was a life-threatening situation,” Capt. Mike Strapko said. “There were flames and smoke all around them.” Enormous strength and teamwork was needed since one firefighter weighed at least 240 pounds. The first firefighter was hauled out 24 minutes after the first Mayday had sounded and the second firefighter was rescued about four minutes later. It was a traumatic event, but “this is the type of situation” that Toronto firefighters train for, Strapko said. “This was a case of excellent training and excellent teamwork,” Strapko said. “Everybody did the right thing at the right time.” Three firefighters were taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. A senior commander at the site who participated in the rescue, refused treatment and remained on the scene. All three have since been released from hospital. *********************************** Mayday call terrified fellow firefighters By CHRIS DOUCETTE, Toronto Sun Toronto Sun - Last Updated: January 5, 2011 5:58pm

When two Toronto firefighters disappeared into the smoke and flames of a fire ravaged century-old building on Yonge St. early Monday, their comrades initially feared the worst. But upon hearing the dreaded "mayday call," everyone's training kicked in, all involved remained calm, and the two firemen were quickly hauled from the inferno to safety. "It was terrifying," Cpt. John Welsh said Wednesday at the Toronto Fire Services training facility in Scarborough. "As soon as any kind of a mayday comes in, you're thinking the worst and you want to do what ever you can." Soon after the 4 a.m. fire erupted at Yonge and Gould Sts., the two firemen in question were battling the blaze from the next-door rooftop of HMV when they slipped and fell about two stories down into the burning building. A recording of the dramatic mayday call, which went out immediately over the radio, can be heard on YouTube. And members of the media were shown first-hand at the Bermondsey Rd. training centre how the two firefighters were rescued using what they had at their disposal, a fire hose. The hose would have been lowered to the pair and they would have stepped on it like standing on a skipping rope. Then, while hugging the two ends and clasping their hands together in front of their chest, their brethren would have given a few powerful tugs and yanked them up out of the smoke and flames. "When we made the decision to do what we did, everybody fully engaged and understood what needed to be done," firefighter Peter Atkins, who was participated in the rescue effort and is an instructor of such survival techniques. "That's why it was as successful as it was," he said. http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/05/16771446.html ************************************** Listen to the audio of dramatic Gould St. fire rescue Toronto Sun - Published On Wed Jan 5 2011 Emmanuel Samoglou Staff Reporter

An audio recording of Monday’s rescue of two firefighters has been posted on the Internet, giving insight into the dramatic operation that brought the pair to safety. The audio begins with communications between members of Toronto Fire Services as they battle the fire that destroyed a heritage building at the corner of Yonge and Gould Sts. At about the 13 minute mark, a distinct cry of “mayday, mayday, mayday,” is heard through deep, laboured breathing, followed by what appears to be a call for a paramedic. The location of the distress call is then identified as 333 Yonge St., the address of the neighbouring HMV building. Another mayday call is heard just after 15 minutes, indicating a second firefighter has fallen through the roof. The remainder of the tape details how both men were plucked from the building which was engulfed in smoke and flames. One firefighter suffered smoke inhalation and the other sustained a back injury. Fire Chief Bill Stewart described the situation as a “very intense time,” and “very horrific” for the firefighters at the time. Three firefighters were taken to hospital. All three have since been released. http://www.thestar.com/news/article/916368--listen-to-the-audio-of-dramatic-gould-st-fire-rescue?bn=1 ********************************************* Arson suspected in Yonge St. fire Valerie Hauch Toronto Star - Staff Reporter January 5, 2011

What is left of the front of 335 Yonge St. is “very unstable," says Toronto Deputy Fire Chief Frank Lamie. RICK EGLINTON/TORONTO STAR Arson is suspected as the cause of a six-alarm fire that virtually destroyed a heritage building at 335 Yonge St. on Monday. “Arson is being investigated as a cause (of the fire) but it is not confirmed to be arson yet,’’ said police communications spokesman Const. Scott Mills. Toronto police are working together with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office in investigating the cause of the fire that destroyed most of the historic structure, except for the façade that faces Yonge St. and turns onto Gould. But those last charred red brick remnants of the building, that was built in 1888 and once housed the Empress Hotel, will be demolished. “The engineers have concluded that structurally speaking it cannot be saved,’’ Bryan Fischer, fire inspection supervisor with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office, told the Star on Wednesday. He said there was no timeline yet as to when the façade would come down.

Earlier on Wednesday, Toronto Deputy Fire Chief Frank Lamie said what is left of the building fronting Yonge St. is “very unstable, that is why we started (with equipment) at the back — we didn’t want to disturb it.” Area councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27) had hoped that the façade could be saved and had brought a heritage architect to the site Tuesday to inspect it. She said he concluded that due to the extreme conditions it had been subjected to — the flames, the cold water used to extinguish them and the freezing conditions — “the brick had been compromised. “It would really be unsafe to even try to restore it and bring it back. Only then did I finally give up on trying to save the façade,’’ said Wong-Tam. Fire investigators still can’t step on the site yet as it remains unsafe but machinery is being used in the investigation to grab and pull out pieces of debris. “Heavy equipment is nibbling away at building material and evidence and bringing it out and they’re looking at it,’’ said Fire Capt. Mike Strapko. According to Fischer, “the fire department has not been able to complete a primary search yet. So that is something that has to be done and will be done as the scene becomes safe to enter.’’ The primary search will determine if there were any human lives lost. “The evidence we have currently is that there is no one in the building,’’ said Fischer. On Tuesday he had speculated that there could have been homeless people in the building — “we just don’t know.’’ Water was being sprayed on the site Wednesday to “keep the dust down’’ as the building was suspected to have contained asbestos, Fischer said. He said the investigation was moving along well “but there’s too many variables to comment on how long it’s going to take.’’ Earlier in the day Toronto Deputy Fire Chief Frank Lamie had speculated that “the soonest we can open Yonge St. (to traffic) is Saturday.” But he said that was not a firm date. Traffic has been diverted and pedestrians are permitted only on parts of Yonge St., between Dundas and Gerrard Sts. since the fire. The 335 Yonge St. site is owned by a numbered company that is linked to the Lalani family. http://www.thestar.com/news/article/916654--arson-suspected-in-yonge-st-fire?bn=1 ********************************************

Toronto police join investigation into fire in Yonge St. heritage building CP24 - Wed Jan. 05 2011 7:12:49 PM | The Canadian Press

Members of the Toronto Fire Department battle a blaze at Yonge Street and Gould Street in Toronto Monday, January 3, 2011. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese)

TORONTO — Toronto police say they are sifting through the remains of a Yonge Street heritage building searching for evidence of arson.

Const. Scott Mills says police have obtained a warrant and are probing the cause of the massive blaze along with Toronto's fire department and the Ontario Fire Marshal's office.

Two firefighters were injured Monday when they fell from a neighbouring roof into the burning building.

They were rescued after an intense 30-minute hunt through dense smoke and suffered minor injuries.

At its height, 32 fire trucks and 125 firefighters responded to the pre-dawn six-alarm blaze in the empty downtown building.

The building prompted headlines last April when its facade collapsed onto a normally busy sidewalk, sparking fears that pedestrians had been trapped under the rubble. However, no one was hurt in that incident.

http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110105/110105_fire/20110105/?hub=CP24Home

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Yonge St. fire possibly arson: police CBC - Last Updated: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 | 6:13 PM ET

The six-alarm fire on Toronto's busy Yonge Street started early Monday morning. Toronto police have confirmed that the investigation into the six-alarm fire at a vacant heritage building downtown earlier this week is now a criminal matter. Police told CBC News on Wednesday that they are working alongside arson investigators from Toronto Fire Services and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office. Const. Scott Mills said police have a search warrant for the Yonge Street property north of Dundas Street that caught fire and are looking for evidence that the fire was deliberately set. "When there's reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence has occurred … we have to proceed under a Criminal Code search warrant," said Bryan Fisher of the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office. The section of Toronto's busy Yonge St. where the Monday fire occurred remains closed as the investigation continues into what sparked the massive blaze. Fire investigators and demolition crews have spent the past two days meticulously taking apart the destroyed heritage building at 335 Yonge St., hoping to find clues to what started the fire. The six-alarm blaze was reported at about 4 a.m. At its peak, 32 fire trucks and 125 firefighters were involved in the effort to put it out. It has still not been confirmed if there were any homeless people inside the building when the fire started. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2011/01/05/toronto-yonge-fire.html http://ca.news.yahoo.com/yonge-st-fire-possibly-arson-police-20110105-124302-698.html

********************************* Burnt Out Heritage Building Being Treated As A Crime Scene 2011/01/05 | CityNews.ca Staff

Fire officials confirmed Wednesday that the site of Monday’s massive 6 alarm blaze that destroyed a historic building is now being treated as a crime scene. The Toronto police will work together with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office to determine the cause of the blaze that erupted early Monday morning at 335 Yonge Street. Meanwhile, as investigators sift through the rubble, demolition of the building began Wednesday. Until Wednesday, investigators with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office weren’t able to check if anyone was inside the building when it went up in flames. The investigation is expected to stretch to the weekend. The structure was built in 1888 and months ago it was designated a heritage building. The owners of the building had indicated they wanted to take the structure down. http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/106319--burnt-out-heritage-building-being-treated-as-a-crime-scene ***************************

Police joining probe of Yonge Street fire

An overview of the fire scene at 335 Yonge St. on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. (Tom Podolec/CTV Toronto) CTV - Updated: Wed Jan. 05 2011 7:59:26 PM The Canadian Press TORONTO — Toronto police say they are sifting through the remains of a Yonge Street heritage building searching for evidence of arson. Const. Scott Mills says police have obtained a warrant and are probing the cause of the massive blaze along with Toronto's fire department and the Ontario Fire Marshal's office. Two firefighters were injured Monday when they fell from a neighbouring roof into the burning building. They were rescued after an intense 30-minute hunt through dense smoke and suffered minor injuries. At its height, 32 fire trucks and 125 firefighters responded to the pre-dawn six-alarm blaze in the empty downtown building.

The building prompted headlines last April when its facade collapsed onto a normally busy sidewalk, sparking fears that pedestrians had been trapped under the rubble. However, no one was hurt in that incident. http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110105/yonge-street-fire-criminal-investigation-110105/20110105/?hub=TorontoNewHome

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Dramatic Toronto firefighter audio surfaces

CBC - Last Updated: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 | 4:39 PM ET

Frantic radio exchanges between emergency workers after Toronto firefighters fell into a burning downtown building have surfaced online.

YouTube recording Toronto fire mayday call

The 21-minute recording of radio traffic, posted by the user "firefighterdispatch" on YouTube, begins with fire crews describing the scene outside the 122-year-old building at 335 Yonge St. near Gould Street that went up in flames early Monday.

At the 13:02 mark, a firefighter is heard saying "Mayday, mayday, mayday." The voice says a firefighter has fallen from the roof of an adjacent HMV store into the burning three-storey building at Yonge and Gould.

The trapped firefighter is heard saying at 14:56 that he is "low on air." He asks that a bottle be lowered to him at the west wall of the building.

At the 15:22 mark, "Mayday, mayday" is heard from another voice. "We have a second firefighter that's fallen over the roof close to the west side."

But after only a few minutes of frantic searching, rescue teams are heard locating their colleagues in the inferno.

Both men were pulled from the flames and treated at St Michael's hospital.

One suffered lower back injuries, and both had inhaled a fair bit of smoke. A third firefighter was also injured and had to be taken to hospital. A fourth received treatment at the scene.

None of the four firefighters suffered serious injuries.

Chief Bill Stewart of Toronto fire services described the situation on Monday as "very horrific," but said "the training that we put our people through worked, worked effectively."

The Ontario Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze, which came eight months after a large chunk of the building's front wall collapsed. A portion of Yonge Street remained closed Wednesday because investigators were meticulously taking the building apart.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110105/yonge-street-fire-criminal-investigation-110105/20110105/?hub=TorontoNewHome ***************************

Toronto fire that razed heritage building being probed as arson

Trevor Melanson

Globe and Mail Update

Last updated Wednesday, Jan. 05, 2011 6:26PM EST

The fire that scorched and ruined the heritage building at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets early Monday is now being investigated by police as a possible arson.

“Yesterday a search warrant was granted and the Toronto Police Service are now in the investigation along with the fire marshals,” Constable Scott Mills told The Globe and Mail Wednesday.

Constable Mills said he wasn’t sure what evidence triggered the criminal investigation, but that it would have been something the fire marshal deemed suspicious.

But details are few. “It could be anything,” Constable Mills said.

Earlier Wednesday, an audio-only video clip of panicked firefighters rushing to save the heritage building from the massive six-alarm blaze was posted on YouTube.

Thirteen minutes into the clip, one firefighter can be heard yelling, “Mayday, mayday, mayday!”

Shortly after, a different voice: “Rescue 325 Captain has issued a mayday. He’s fallen through the roof of 333 Yonge Street.”

The building is actually located at 335 Yonge Street.

Another mayday can be heard just minutes after the first, as a second firefighter falls over the roof. Those two fallen men are later pulled back up with fire hoses lowered into the building.

In total, three firefighters were sent to St. Michael’s hospital with minor injuries after the fire. Another was treated on scene.

The building is now set for demolition.

“It just can’t be saved,” Captain Mike Strapko said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a primary investigation of the wreckage sped up early this morning as a mechanical arm began removing debris from the ruins for inspection.

But the building still isn’t safe enough for people to enter. “We’re not sending anybody in there,” Captain Strapko said.

He also added it’s not yet clear whether or not anyone was killed in the fire. There’s still a possibility the building had housed squatters.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/toronto-fire-that-razed-heritage-building-being-probed-as-arson/article1858771/ **************************************** Investigators look for clues at fire-gutted hotel Toronto Sun - Columnists / Michele Mandel Last Updated: January 5, 2011 6:42pm Fire investigators have started the meticulous work of sifting through ash and debris at the burned out historic Empress Hotel. Five members of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office used rakes to scour the ashes plucked out by an excavator as they worked to confirm the cause of the Monday morning, six-alarm blaze at the building, located at Yonge and Gould Sts. Whatever evidence they find will be sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for examination. Toronto firefighters were on the scene Wednesday, spraying a fine mist on the debris to keep it wet. Capt. Mike Strapko said the moisture prevents dust from blowing away. Since the building was more than 100-years old, there could be asbestos in the rubble. Before the cause can officially be determined, forensic experts have to review the evidence. But sources told the Toronto Sun Tuesday that the spectacular fire — doused by 125 firefighters — is believed to be arson.

While the OFM won’t confirm it was arson, Toronto Const. Scott Mills said police sought and received Tuesday a criminal search warrant for the scene. The warrant allows authorities to search for evidence of possible arson, he said. Strapko said it’ll be at least until Saturday “in the best case scenario” before the search for evidence is completed at the scene. “It could take longer than that,” he added. The heritage building was vacant after a slab of bricks toppled from the second floor onto Gould St. earlier this year. http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/michele_mandel/2011/01/05/16774516.html **********************************

Getting back to business after fire

VINCE TALOTTA/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE The blaze investigation continues yesterday as firefighters get a bird’s-eye view of the damage at the corner of Yonge and Gould.

“They should just tear it down. It’s just an awful mess at this point. What significant building could there be in that space?”

Arron Barberian, Barberian Steakhouse

Metro News - Published: January 05, 2011 5:53 a.m.

Businesses on Yonge Street just north of Dundas began to reopen yesterday morning as the investigation into the six-alarm fire that destroyed an historic building continued. Yonge remained closed to vehicles between Dundas and Gerrard streets, but pedestrians were being allowed into the area even as city engineers checked surrounding buildings for damage as a result of the blaze at 335 Yonge St. Ryerson University also reopened its doors after cancelling all campus activities Monday. A statement on the school’s website said classes would be following a normal schedule yesterday. Businesses were opening their doors just hours after a hot spot flared up in the wreckage of the heritage building early yesterday morning. “We wanted to open yesterday but weren’t allowed to,” said Elyse Mayo, an employee of Watch It, located on Yonge a few doors south of the fire. “We probably missed some business.” Other businesses in the area echoed Mayo’s complaint. “The idea that this could be restored is ridiculous,” said Arron Barberian, a member of the family who owns Barberian Steakhouse, on Elm Street just west of Yonge. He added that he didn’t feel the building had that much historical worth. “The Ford Hotel? C’mon. It was a flophouse,” he said. Police would not say when the roads would reopen, only saying it could take several days, depending on the Ontario Fire Marshal’s investigation into the cause of the fire. Capt. Mike Strapko said it’s not known how long the investigation will take. “It’s a slow, meticulous process, where we will be picking out pieces of debris to do a forensic examination,” Strapko said. http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/local/article/734663--getting-back-to-business-after-fire ****************************** Levy: Rye wants Yonge and Gould The Eyeopener - 05 January 2011 By News Editor Sarah Del Giallo

Ryerson University is still interested in the property on the corner of Yonge and Gould, even after a massive blaze engulfed the building on Monday. “When the building was there, we were interested. When the building fell down, we were interested. And after the building burned down, we remain interested,” said Ryerson President Sheldon Levy. Ryerson has been after the Heritage building for some time now. The Dundas subway station platform ends underneath the site making it possible to have a campus entrance to the subway. Since the building is a historical landmark, the city has most of the control over what happens to the plot, regardless of the owner. It will be impossible to know what kind of building will stand on the plot until the city releases its restrictions. Levy said the main source of frustration around the fire is the possibility that it could have been prevented. After the wall collapse in April, the building stood empty and deteriorating for eight months. “The fact that there was no urgency, I think is insulting to everyone in our community. And I hope now there’s an urgency,” said Levy. “My hope is we’re not here in eight months talking about the same thing.” No decisions about the building’s fate can be made until the fire department’s investigation is completed. Captain Mike Strapko said the process is moving slowly. Hoses are still misting the ruins to keep the building’s asbestos from floating around. “It’s a very complex and meticulous investigation,” said Strapko. Students are harbouring a lot of confusion about the fire and the community is waiting for answers from the investigation. “There was nothing there, so how could it catch on fire?” said Mohammed Quraishi, a second-year engineering student.

On Monday, Ken Rutherford, a member of Toronto BIA (Business Improvement Areas), said, “It’s sad to see. Especially when it didn’t have to happen. The building should have been maintained.” Rutherford said the development will be a lengthy process in the downtown area. Levy agrees. Even if the university purchases the site, the project completion would take four to five years. The university in discussions with the TTC, and is waiting to hear if the Ryerson’s budget will allow another major purchase. Nothing yet has gone to the Board of Governors for approval. “We know all the different issues that we have to deal with, and we are interested in pursuing the building,” Levy said. Photo: Marta Iwanek http://theeyeopener.com/2011/01/president-levy-rye-wants-yonge-and-gould/

Firefighters face increasing peril as vacant death traps proliferate

CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD

Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Jan. 07, 2011 3:00AM

A lone figure wearing a backpack was caught on surveillance cameras entering the historic Empress Hotel building before the massive blaze early Monday morning which gutted it, The Globe and Mail has learned.

The information is part of the Toronto Police-Ontario Fire Marshal investigation into the six-alarm fire that at one point saw two Toronto firefighters fall from the roof of an adjacent building into the very heart of the inferno.

While two crews on ladder trucks directed water onto the fallen men to keep the flames at bay, the department’s RIT squads – rapid intervention teams whose sole job is to save their fellows when they are in trouble – lowered water-filled hoses the fallen men held onto while their colleagues hoisted them to safety.

Although the two were later discharged from hospital with minor injuries, theirs was a shockingly close call and a grim reminder that many Canadian cities and their fire departments are ill-prepared for an onslaught which may be just around the corner.

In the United States, fires in vacant buildings such as the structure at Yonge and Gould Streets in downtown Toronto account for fully 75 per cent of firefighter deaths.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, which two years ago released an alert about the issue, 96 firefighters across the U.S. died, and another 106 were injured, at “structure fires” between January, 1998, and February, 2007. Fifty-four of the 71 fires occurred in unoccupied buildings, accounting for 72 of the 96 deaths and 94 of the 106 injuries.

As a reminder of the veracity of those statistics, just before Christmas two Chicago firefighters died, trapped when a wall and roof collapsed in a fire at an abandoned building on the city’s South Side. The building had been vacant for years, the gas and water turned off, but firefighters feared squatters might be inside and went in after them.

It is one of the awful, split-second decisions firefighters have to make all the time – as the NIOSH bulletin put it, will “we risk our lives a lot, in a calculated manner, to save savable lives” or “a little” to save savable lives, or not at all “for a building or lives that are already lost?”

But fires in vacant buildings render those decisions all the more difficult “because of all the unknowns,” said Fred LeBlanc, president of the 11,300-member Ontario Professional Firefighters Association and a Kingston firefighter.

Arriving crews may not know if the building has fire protection or standpipe systems and if they’re disabled; if the utilities are on or off; if the floors are compromised; if the exits and entrances are boarded. In addition, Mr. LeBlanc said, in these situations crews don’t even get witness reports from “people running out to give us details” about where the fire started.

Crews may be left with only rumours or sightings of squatters who often light fires for heat or light. Such reports may be inaccurate, but with a reactive group like

firefighters, whose instincts and training are to rush toward danger as others flee it, it may be enough to propel them into peril.

Ironically, even the one measure fire departments and North American cities routinely require – the boarding up of abandoned buildings – not only may fail to dissuade squatters, but also poses an impediment to firefighters running out of air or trying to get out.

“There’s a high probability [in these situations] that firefighters will become disoriented or trapped in these [vacant] buildings,” Rob Simonds, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and the chief in Saint John, told The Globe in a telephone interview.

While dilapidated urban cores and desolated downtowns have been widespread in some American cities for years, their Canadian counterparts have been spared until recently, with Toronto in particular long proud of its vibrant inner core. But the economic slowdown has begun to be felt across Canada, especially in towns and cities in Ontario, the country’s former industrial heartland.

Among the key recommendations in the NIOSH bulletin was for fire departments to become pro-active about risk management – conduct regular inspections of vacant buildings; enter that information into the dispatch computer so responding crews get it; work with other agencies to identify unoccupied buildings.

Yet there isn’t even a central data-collecting agency for fire statistics in Canada, and only a few municipalities where fire departments are even attempting the shift from a reactive – if frankly heroic – traditional model to a pro-active one.

Niagara Falls, Ont., where more than 25 per cent of structure fires in the city occur in vacant buildings, is probably furthest along that path. Using the Ontario Fire Code as the hammer – it says “Vacant buildings shall be secured against unauthorized entry” – the department works with local police to find unoccupied buildings, immediately inspects them, orders them secured – and then vigorously prosecutes owners who fail to comply. Just last month, the Ontario Divisional Court upheld one such order on a vacant building.

As Deputy Chief Jim Jessop told The Globe in a phone interview, his department has prosecuted more than two dozen cases, won fines of as much as $25,000

against owners, received the okay to demolish seven buildings, and, with a number of larger abandoned factories and warehouses, forced owners to take and pay for extraordinary measures such as installing security fences, removing all combustibles and cementing entrances.

The situation which galvanized Niagara Falls was the last fire at a vacant house in the city in 2004. There had been others, but, Deputy Chief Jessop said, the department handled the case in the traditional way, what he called, “Board up, speak to the owner, and wait for the next fire.”

That came after the place had been turned into a crack house by squatters. Firefighters were crawling over 6,000 dirty needles and pulling them out of their gear afterwards.

But Hamilton, has taken perhaps the most sweeping approach. Two years ago, the city created a “vacant building protocol,” where abandoned properties were regularly inspected. Within a year – stung by the demolition of a historic theatre – the city moved to give its protocol bite.

On Oct. 13, city council passed a “vacant building registry bylaw,” which requires owners of any property vacant for 90 days – residential, commercial or industrial – to register it with the city for a fee. The intention, Marty Hazell, senior director of parking and bylaw services, “is to pro-actively monitor the buildings on our list once every three months” to protect them from deterioration “and ultimately encourage re-use or occupancy.”

In addition, on the same day, council approved asking the province to review legislation which makes the owners of vacant commercial or industrial buildings eligible for municipal tax rebates. This legislation dates back to 2001, and city officials believe that in addition to the costs – counting the educational portion, Hamilton rebated more than $3-million in 2009 – the rebate program acts as a disincentive to downtown renewal.

The plague of abandoned homes isn’t confined to large urban areas. Chief Simonds said his department is now working with Saint John council towards taking a Niagara Falls-type approach. “If we have a line-of-duty death, it will be too late,” he said.

With a population of 130,000 in the Greater Saint John area, the fire department already has tracked 101 vacant buildings – many small tenements –and integrated the information onto its database. “This is absolutely the way of the future,” he said. “As stewards of public safety, we need to keep our finger on the pulse of this situation.”

Part of the difficulty is that with the gap in national data collection, neighbouring municipalities may be operating in the dark about new initiatives taken just down the road. Chief Jessop was completely unaware what Hamilton, for instance, has been doing. The two cities are just 45 minutes apart.

But as Chief Jessop said, push come to shove, “It’s going to be our guys there on their hands and knees in the heat and the smoke and the darkness. It’s not going to be a building inspector or someone from public health.”

Toronto, where the old Empire Hotel is no more, doesn’t have a vacant building registry of any sort. Nor do officials, said Blair Hawkins, senior communications co-ordinator with the city, have an estimate of how many empty structures there are in Toronto.

But the city processes about 2,100 vacancy tax rebate applications a year – though, Mr. Hawkins cautioned, that number includes entire buildings and buildings with vacant units.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/christie-blatchford/firefighters-face-increasing-peril-as-vacant-death-traps-proliferate/article1860962/