Hundreds of apartment dwellers from fire ravaged 650 Parliament — perhaps as many as 1,500 — have been made homeless by the smoky, six-alarm fire at the building on Tuesday. Mayor Tory said Canadian Red Cross officials are working to find accommodations for more than 1,000 people. The remaining residents made arrangements to stay with family or friends. The mayor appealed to hotel operators, Airbnb hosts and others with spare accommodations to email gtaresponse@redcross.ca to assist with temporarily housing those with nowhere else to go. Fire Chief Matthew Pegg says the fire has been extinguished but is uninhabitable. TFS and others were called to the address south of Bloor St. E. at 12:51 p.m. The fire was originally deemed a two-alarm blaze but was steadily upgraded throughout the afternoon. At one point, Chief Pegg said extra alarms were rung just to get more men on the ground for the exhausting job of evacuating residents. Officials said crews found heavy black smoke coming out of the basement and moving up the building. Toronto police said an electrical box was the source of the fire, but fire officials said it was too early for investigators to identify the cause. During an update late Tuesday evening, Pegg said there has been “significant damage” to the building.
With local Councillor @LucyTroisi outside 650 Parliament St. speaking to residents about City support services available following the fire. pic.twitter.com/hpm1H4ohVS
— John Tory (@TorontosMayor) August 22, 2018
