A three-alarm fire has gutted the clubhouse of a yacht club that has been operating in Etobicoke for decades. About 27 fire trucks and approximately 100 firefighters were called to the Toronto Humber Yacht Club, located at 101 Humber Valley Rd., at around 4:45 a.m. for a massive structure fire. By 7 a.m., Toronto fire had confirmed that the blaze had been extinguished. “Crews worked really hard to implement a water relay to make sure we can water down from the main hydrants down to the riverside here,” Deputy Chief Paul Fitzgerald told reporters at the scene. Eight trucks, he said, were used in a link to bring the water down to the scene. “It is a long way from the main hydrants. We practice for this. We train for this. The crews implemented their training and managed to get water onto the fire very quickly and knock the fire down very quickly,” he added. Aerial operations were also implemented to douse the flames, said Fitzgerald. He added that the fire was contained to the main building with some extension to an adjacent storage area. “The main structure is fully involved, quite a lot of damage there,” the deputy fire chief said, noting that the roof of the clubhouse is gone. Fire crews will remain on scene for the rest of the day. The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) has been notified and an investigation into the blaze is now underway. “With every fire we have, we will enter an investigation phase now,” Fitzgerald said. “We have notified the OFM. We are going to work with Toronto police. We have fire investigations on the way for our internal fire services.” No injuries were reported. “That is some of the good news that we have. There is no injuries reported by the public or any emergency service personnel,” Fitzgerald said. “The original calls came in… at around 4:45 a.m. and they saw some fire there. We are really glad that they were local and saw that.” ‘An unexpected and deeply unfortunate incident’ Local Coun. Amber Morley said her office has been “engaged in the future of the Toronto Humber Yacht Club for the last several months, both with Council and the local community.” “This morning’s fire was an unexpected and deeply unfortunate incident. I am thankful there were no injuries and for the great efforts of Toronto Fire,” the Etobicoke-Lakeshore rep wrote in a statement provided to CP24 on Wednesday afternoon. “We await the findings of the Fire Marshal and will keep the community updated as details become available.” Sydney Cook, a resident of the area, witnessed firefighters working to extinguish the blaze on Wednesday morning. “I went to my middle school graduation there. I’m so sad,” he said. The yacht club currently operates on land owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the decision was recently made by the City of Toronto not to renew the club’s lease, citing environmental concerns. In a staff report published last month, the City of Toronto said the site would soon be decommissioned while work is done to determine potential future uses. Earlier this week, the yacht club filed a notice of application for judicial review of the council’s decision, according to vice-commodore Wilson DaSilva. He said in a statement that the club was also seeking for an emergency stay so it could stay on the property while the application is being heard. DaSilva said members were devastated about the fire. “The Toronto Humber Yacht Club has been part of our community for 70 years and we are thankful no one was injured. We know that people disagree with our club and we trust that the authorities will conduct a thorough investigation of the fire,” he said in a statement. “If determined that it was deliberately set, we hope that any responsible parties are brought to justice.”
