A woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after Toronto police officers found her on fire inside a structure in south Etobicoke.
Police were called to the area of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Eighth Street near Islington Avenue around 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday for reports of an assault.
While on scene, they located the woman on fire inside the structure, which police referred to as a tent. However, Toronto Fire said it was a wooden structure.
A police officer suffered minor injuries while pulling the woman out from the structure, and was also taken to hospital for treatment.
According to reports from the scene, the structure is located behind an abandoned building at 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W.
A resident who lives in the area told CityNews the building has been abandoned for years.
“I’m from the neighbourhood, I’ve lived here for 14 years. This building here on the corner has been a sore spot for a long time. It’s been vacant, there’s no activity in there for at least 10 years that I know of,” she said.
The area resident said she’s been told that there are unhoused people living in the structure, but she doesn’t know how many and how long they’ve been living there.
Police say they can’t confirm if the woman found on fire was the same person reported to be assaulted.
Toronto police and fire crews at the scene of a fire near Lake Shore Boulevard West and Eighth Street in south Etobicoke on Dec. 2, 2025. (Peter Dworschak/CityNews)