Injured firefighter in stable condition after Etobicoke blaze

A firefighter who was injured while responding to a five-alarm fire at a townhouse in the Humber Bay neighbourhood on Thursday night is in stable condition.

Three district fire chiefs and 13 firetrucks arrived at the scene of the blaze in the area of Lake Shore Boulevard and Palace Pier Court around 6 p.m.

Toronto police said they received multiple calls about a fire on a balcony on the third floor of the home.

The blaze then spread to the roof of the building and to an adjourning unit north of the balcony, police said.

One of the three district chiefs who responded to the fire suffered critical injuries at the scene and was subsequently rushed to hospital.

At the scene, Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg told reporters he was going straight to the hospital to see the injured firefighter after briefing the media.

“One of our firefighters – one of our staff – sustained critical injuries here tonight,” he said. “I can tell you that that firefighter has been transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital by our colleagues at Toronto Paramedics Services.”

“This is an extremely difficult circumstance for all of us at Toronto Fire. It’s very very hard on our crews – they did a fantastic job suppressing this kind of fire. Dealing with this kind of incident is difficult at any point in time, doing that currently knowing that we suffered an injury to one of our own is extremely difficult.”

Upon arrival at the hospital, Pegg told reporters that the firefighter was in stable condition. He described him as a “very well respected senior member” of their team.

“I’m very pleased to report that the medical team has advised me that he is listed in stable condition,” he said. “The fact that he is stable is exceptionally good news for all of us.”

When asked about the cause of the firefighter’s injuries, Pegg said he does not believe it was trauma related.

“(There was) certaintly no indication of trauma related to the fire – it appears to be that he sustained some type of medical event while operating on scene.”

Also, Mayor John Tory expressed his thoughts for the injured firefighter on Twitter.

Speaking with CP24 over the phone on Thursday night, Capt. David Eckerman said emergency officials were working to search all surrounding units after the fire broke out.

“We have gotten in front of the fire and we’re going unit-to-unit doing searches and extinguishing the fire as we go,” Eckerman said. “We have aerial operations set up and we’re pulling down ceiling from within in order to access the fire from both sides.”

Pegg confirmed that the fire was “under control” about three hours after it broke out.

“Our crews are continuing to do some overhaul and some containment operation so we’ll be here for some time,” Pegg said.

Toronto Paramedics said no other injuries have been reported. But, Eckerman said a dog was located in one of the units.

“The search of the units has turned up a dog in one who appeared to be in good health,” he said.

As well, Toronto Fire said their response time to the fire was delayed due to traffic in the area.

Roads closures have been implemented in the area to accommodate an investigation. The cause of the blaze is not yet known.