19 students and 14 other people left homeless tonight
Two townhouses are destroyed after a two-alarm fire started in the Village on Monday afternoon.
Toronto Fire Services spent the afternoon battling the blaze, which began at 4:30 p.m. Firefighters were still on scene until 6 p.m.
Units 237 and 239 Assiniboine were completely destroyed, while 241 suffered damages by the fire and was also vacated.
A Toronto Fire Services spokesperson tells Excalibur the fire started on the third floor of a townhouse on Assiniboine Road near Leitch Avenue and spread to two other homes. He describes the damage as “extensive” and says that fire marshals are continuing to completing their investigation.
The blaze could be seen from the Pond Residence and Highway 407.
A total of 19 students and 14 other people — not York students — have been displaced from three Village homes because of the fire, Joanne Rider of York media confirms.
Jareel Tomlinson, a York student displaced by the blaze, tells Excalibur he was just returning from an exam when he saw the fire.
Tomlinson, along with the other residents, watched with a crowd of bystanders as high winds made the task of dousing the fire even more difficult for firefighters.
York administration has offered those affected by the fire temporary shelter in the Bennett Centre for Student Services and will provide them with toothbrushes, toothpaste, food, and socks, says Rider.
Residence will also be re-opened as needed, she says.
Janice Walls of York media says administration will be meeting with the displaced students individually tomorrow to discuss their housing requirements and will address any academic issues they are facing.
“Students are being told not to worry about academic concerns tonight,” Walls said in an email to Excalibur.
Brandon Allwood, Contributor
With files from Melissa Sundardas and Ernest Reid
