A man and woman were rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries after they were rescued from a fire in a rooming house in Toronto’s west end Tuesday morning, paramedics say.
Firefighters used a ladder to rescue the woman and they carried the man down a staircase when they arrived at the burning home on Gladstone Avenue, just north of Dundas Street West, at about 7:50 a.m.
Officials are hailing a neighbourhood resident who fetched his own ladder and helped two people to escape after he heard cries for help.
Toronto Fire Services spokesman Capt. Mike Strapko said the man and woman, who were trapped on the third floor, were having difficulty breathing as the fire spread and the house filled with smoke.
CPR was performed on the woman after she stopped breathing at the scene, a fire official told CP24 reporter Cam Woolley.
Several people were inside the house when the fire broke out, including some occupants who have disabilities, said Toronto police spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond.
Up to 10 people who live in the semi-detached home have been displaced by the fire.
Fire began in kitchen
The Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating the cause, but it is believed the blaze started while a resident was cooking in the main-floor kitchen and left a pot or pan unattended.
When firefighters arrived, the kitchen was engulfed and the flames spread quickly to a back staircase and the second floor, said division commander Andrew Kostiuk.
The fire was so hot that it burned holes in the floorboards.
Kostiuk said there was no sign of functioning smoke detectors inside the rooming house.
“Smoke detectors would have helped to wake the people up and get them out faster,” he said.
People should have working smoke alarms on every level of their home and outside sleeping areas, and they should test them regularly, fire officials say.
People should also plan and practice a fire escape route with their families and/or roommates.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
