1 person found dead after 40-foot blaze at North York encampment
A housing advocate says the deadly fire highlights the need for permanent housing in Toronto
One person was found dead after a 40-foot blaze at a homeless encampment in North York early Thursday, Toronto Fire says, which one advocate says emphasizes the need for housing in the city.
Crews were first alerted to the blaze shortly after 4 a.m., according to Fire Chief Jim Jessop. The encampment was in the Don Valley, down a steep embankment behind a plaza on Credit Union Drive in the area of Eglinton Avenue E. and Bermondsey Road.
A number of propane tanks and compressed gas cylinders had exploded and multiple trees sustained significant fire damage, he added.
They were able to extinguish the fire in about 15 minutes, Jessop said. During a subsequent search of the site, a deceased person was found inside a makeshift structure.
There were several structures at the site made of wood and covered in cardboard, according to Jessop.
The origin, cause and circumstances of the blaze will be jointly investigated by Toronto Fire, Toronto police and the Ontario Fire Marshal.
Jessop said the encampment had several wooden structures, and Toronto Fire has visited the encampment before to distribute fire safety education materials.
An advocate says fatal encampment fire highlights need for housing
Lorraine Lam, the organizer of the Shelter Housing Justice Network, said that "pamphlets are not going to do anything for fire safety" and the deadly fire highlights the need for the city to face the housing crisis.
"People's lives are in danger and yet there is no urgency to implement any change," Lam added.
The public should stop "scapegoating" people who are unhoused, she said, and instead focus on the policies that leave people homeless.
In a statement, the office of Mayor Olivia Chow said "the incident underscores the urgent need to bring people indoors into shelters and affordable housing." The city's Streets to Home program has referred nearly 500 people to Toronto shelters so far in 2025, the statement noted, and Toronto is building six new shelters in the coming years.
But Lam says shelters are a temporary solution to a larger problem.
"The solution to homelessness is affordable and dignified housing," Lam said. "Everything we do in the meantime, they are just band aids until we get to the solution."
The statement from the mayor's office said Chow is also focused on strengthening eviction prevention programs and "getting shovels in the ground on thousands of affordable homes across Toronto."
"Ultimately, everyone needs a safe place to call home," the statement said.
The encampment in the Don Valley is located near the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre, where president Lionel Zondo says there have been security concerns over the years.
"We have a playground that is here, where during the fall or the school year we have kids in the building," he said.
"We have been trying for a number of years to get some assistance for the folks down there, in order for them to be relocated or rehoused," he said. "That is a challenge."
As of March 14, there were 283 encampments across Toronto, according to Toronto Shelter and Support Services.