School Board trustee Irene Atkinson is in critical condition in hospital after a fire in her west-end home Saturday night. The news has shaken educational circles where Ms Atkinson has been an important influence for many years. The two-alarm blaze is said by firefighters to have started in the kitchen of the house on High Park Blvd.around 7 pm. Ms. Atkinson was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, while another woman had to be rescued off the third-floor balcony because the smoke was too thick to come down through the house. She was treated on scene. There was very little damage beyond the room where the fire started, fire sources said. There are comments of good wishes in the Toronto Star: “On behalf of all trustees, staff and students at the TDSB, our thoughts are with Irene and her family at this difficult time,” TDSB director Donna Quan and vice-chair Shaun Chen wrote in an email, on behalf of chair Chris Bolton. Mayor Rob Ford also sent his good wishes. “Our thoughts are with Trustee Irene Atkinson. We wish her a speedy recovery.” Story
