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Fire crews battled a large blaze in Toronto on Wednesday night that temporarily shut down sections of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, emergency responders said.
First responders received calls for a fire at an abandoned building near Matilda Street and Munro Street around 9:37 p.m. Wednesday, Toronto police said on social media platform X.
The incident is being investigated as a suspicious fire, said Toronto police spokesperson Cindy Chung.
The fire was elevated to a three-alarm fire after “heavy” smoke and flames were seen at the old Jam Factory, said Fire Chief Jim Jessop at the scene. He said the building had been vacant “for a number of years.”
He said parts of the Don Valley Parkway, Gardiner Expressway, Queen Street and Dundas Street were shut down to allow crews to surround the building and contain the fire.
Roads reopened after 3 a.m. Thursday on the Gardiner Expressway at Jarvis Street and northbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway at Don Roadway, according to a post on X from the city.
The fire is out, but crews and investigators remain at the scene, Toronto Fire said on X Thursday morning.
Fire crews used master streams and aerial equipment, including Tower 1, to battle the blaze on Wednesday (Zachary Proulx/CBC)
Toronto paramedics said one police officer was taken to local hospital for minor smoke inhalation.
Jessop said sections of the building’s walls and ceilings have collapsed. He said on Wednesday night that crews had to wait until it was safe to conduct searches inside the building.
A number of master streams and aerial devices were in use, including Tower 1, Jessop said.
“My incredible staff tonight have done an incredible job containing the fire to that area,” he said.
CBC News reached out to Toronto Fire and police for updates on the blaze.