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Four-alarm blaze destroys Adel’s Fine Jewellery and Gifts on Dundas
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CYNTHIA REASON creason@insidetoronto.com The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate the cause of a four-alarm blaze that ravaged an Etobicoke jewelry store Monday. Toronto Fire Services responded to the scene at 5138 Dundas St. W. (near the Six Points interchange) at around 10:39 p.m. after receiving numerous reports of an explosion in the area. Capt. David Eckerman said when firefighters arrived on the scene, they found “heavy fire” in the basement of a jewelry store, which has since been identified as Adel’s Fine Jewellery and Gifts. “We attempted to attack the fire in the basement and found that the floor above us was partially collapsed, making it difficult to locate the scene of the fire,” he said, noting firefighters had no choice but to retreat and take a different tack. “The floor was spongy, so we cut a hole through the floor to allow the heat to escape and so that we could access the fire from above, playing water down through that hole.”
The floor was spongy, so we cut a hole through the floor to allow the heat to escape and so that we could access the fire from above... – Capt. David Eckerman
Photo/John Hanley
Toronto firefighters were called to 5138 Dundas St. W. Monday to find a jewelry store on fire following what appeared to have been an explosion. Crews continued to battle the blaze well past midnight.
By 12:36 a.m., the fire progressed to a four-alarm blaze, with a total of 44 trucks and 132 firefighters called
to the scene, Eckerman said. “At different points throughout the evening, we had to take on a
defensive attack, meaning everyone out of the building,” he said. “At this point, the fire progressed up through the first floor, second floor and into the roof finally.” Firefighters also struggled to turn off the gas, due to the fact the access area was damaged by fire, he added. Meanwhile, several firefighters were tasked with applying “positive pressure” to the jewelry’s store adjoining units “so that any heat or flame or smoke that might want to migrate into the adjoining units was hopefully pushed back,” Eckerman said, adding that, as a result, fire
damage to those units was minimal. Higher damage While very preliminary damage estimates came in at $500,000, it is expected that figure will rise. Eckerman said “feet upon feet” of water had accumulated in the basements of both the jewelry store and its adjoining units. While there were no injuries reported, one male resident of the building, aged 78, has been displaced by the fire. Toronto Public Health has been notified. Several road closures around the scene – including both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Dundas Street West – were still in effect Tuesday morning as the Ontario Fire Marshal continued its investigation and as Enbridge investigated any potential gas leakages as a result of the fire. No cause has been formally identified.
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Visit etobicokeguardian.com for updates on this story.
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| ETOBICOKE GUARDIAN | Thursday, February 20, 2014
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