Results tagged “fire”

Imagine a place packed with your favourite books and toys—a place with no schedules, few rules, and filled with your best friends. Then, imagine if that place were destroyed overnight. The Children’s Storefront, a community based child-care centre located near Bathurst and Dupont for over thirty years, went up in flames on October 31. Now, the people who love it are trying to rebuild, beginning with a set of fundraising events.

Today doesn't mark any kind of numerically significant anniversary for the fire that destroyed six buildings near the intersection of Queen Street West and Bathurst Street on Feburary 20 of last year. There's no nice, round number of days, years, or months to occasion this post. The timing here might be inconvenient, but then so was the fire's. (5 a.m. on a Wednesday?) So we're not totally out of line.

At approximately 5:45 p.m. on December 21st, 2008, Torontoist received a phone call from Boy Reporter. "The parade's been cancelled." "What?" "It's been cancelled. Because of the wind."

Photo by CFernando from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

A series of huge explosions near Keele and Wilson at 3:50 a.m. this morning (skip to 1:50 in this video or 0:53 in this one for the most dramatic ones) were felt across Toronto, after a fire started at Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases at 54 Murray Road—a fire that is only now dying down. Since then, thousands of people have been evacuated, and the 401 has been closed, as have Downsview, Wilson, and Yorkdale TTC stations. Only minor injuries have been reported, but 680 News reports that fire officials told them one person is unaccounted for.

         

A fire broke out on Queen Street West and Cameron Street at around 11 p.m. last night, with February's block-consuming fire just up the street nowhere near forgotten. SoundProof Magazine staff photographer (and Torontoist Flickr Pool contributor) Stephanie Cloutier arrived just before the firefighters did. She writes on her photo's page:

My friend Connie and I were leaving the Cameron House when a group of people standing on the sidewalk and street were screaming across the street, along with someone in a car honking their horn. We [didn't] understand what was happening until we walked closer to the group and looked up, seeing a fire blazing out of the third floor above a residential/retail building.

Continue reading "A Queen West Scare"

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today.

This week Torontoist has been talking to Toronto Firefighters Julie Petruzzellis and Stacey Hannah about what it’s like to be a woman in a dangerous and demanding occupation—one where they're outnumbered 20-to-1 by men. You can read what they said in this special three-part feature, concluding today.

This week Torontoist has been talking to Toronto Firefighters Julie Petruzzellis and Stacey Hannah about what it’s like to be a woman in a dangerous and demanding occupation—one where they're outnumbered 20-to-1 by men. You can read what they said in this special three-part feature, running every night until Thursday.

This week Torontoist has been talking to Toronto Firefighters Julie Petruzzellis and Stacey Hannah about what it’s like to be a woman in a dangerous and demanding occupation—one where they are outnumbered 20-to-1 by men. You can read what they said in this special three-part feature, running every night until Thursday.

When it premiered in the 1980s, Fire, a "jukebox musical" set to the music of Jerry Lee Lewis and some Christian spirituals, was considered something of a sensation. Twenty years later, CanStage has decided to revive the show, bringing the multi-talented Ted Dykstra (pictured) back to the role of Cale Blackwell, a fictionalized stand-in for Lewis. While none of this sounds like a terrible idea, the current production of Fire which opened last night at the Bluma Appel Theatre, plays like the theatrical equivalent of a "you had to be there" joke. The story is inspired by the lives of rock-and-roller Jerry Lee Lewis and his televangelist cousin Jimmy Swaggart and their respectives rises and falls. The musical turns them into brothers named Cale and Hershel Blackwell, two men bonded by blood, sundered by religion and driven by a passion for Jesus, an eager audience and the just-post-pubescent temptress named Molly they both love.

A month after the massive fire that gutted half a block of Queen Street West between Bathurst and Portland at least two of the businesses whose stores were destroyed in the fire have relocated and are planning to reopen soon. Meanwhile, the site has emerged from a blanket of snow and ice revealing what little remains of the businesses and homes razed by the fire.

Photo by Caesar Sebastian.

Toronto principal in controversial controversy over explicit poems he wrote and posted to his website. This is of course the first recorded case ever of somebody getting in trouble for something they wrote on the Internet, and the scandal has sent shock waves through the online community. "Wait, somebody actually this shit?" said Patrick Metzger. "Dammit, I better re-emphasize that my erotic snuff story about Geri Halliwell is purely a work of fiction!"

Photo of Forest City Lovers by Joe Fuda

Last week’s fire on Queen West didn’t only destroy some of the neighbourhood’s best stores; it also put the dozens of people who lived in apartments above the shops out of a home. Some of these folks didn’t have insurance and lost most of their possessions. Many of the artists who lived in the buildings lost their work, and thus their source of income.

Every weekday morning, bright and early, we feature a photo (or two) from a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's our way of giving the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention that they deserve.

There’s an eerie similarity between images of last week's Queen West fire and The Great Fire of 1904. The largest fire in Toronto history consumed one hundred and four buildings—leaving in its wake skeletal brick facades and mounds of rubble. Incredibly, neither fire claimed any lives.

Keri and Charity are two residents who lost everything on Wednesday morning. By that afternoon, a Facebook group (called Ker-ity) had already been set up with the sole purpose of helping them replace what was lost. Torontoist was alerted to the efforts by Erin Dermo, Managing Director of The Ten Spot (less than a block away from the blaze), who has been approaching local businesses to see if they can donate anything that might help. So far, aside from The Ten Spot’s own contributions, nearby businesses like Heel Boy (yes, they donated shoes), The Bier Markt, and Brazen Hussy have all been very generous with much-needed items and gift certificates. The coordinators of the drive (including Dermo and yoga instructor Caren Cooper of Jivita Yoga) are accepting clothing, shoes, and gift certificates at Essensuals Salon (678 Queen Street West). They're also asking for people who have any household items to offer to hang onto them until a storage space or apartment can be found. Don't have any stuff to give? Hey, money always helps—they're accepting Paypal donations at donations@kerity.ca and they'll also be opening a TD Canada Trust account in the next day or so. Check the Facebook group for further details.

Fire at Queen and Bathurst. Adios to Duke's, the Suspect Video outlet, and a bunch of other cool places. Check out Torontoist's coverage of the fire here and here and here––Queen West will be closed until next week.

Today's blaze was not only devastating to the residents of Queen Street West who now find themselves homeless, but also to the business owners who served the community. Duke's Cycle—second home to many of the city's bicycle couriers—has been run by the same family in the same location since 1914. The owners of National Sound, which operated in the area for forty years and at that location since 1988, don't have fire insurance. Clothing design shop Preloved lost their entire one-of-a-kind spring collection. Suspect Video was the essential destination for fans of obscure and hard-to-find films. Some of the destroyed historic brick and timber buildings were built as far back as the 1860s, and were only recently granted heritage protection.

Exclusive images from the massive fire on Queen Street. More shots after the jump.

Photo by aardvark from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

An ornately set table. A fine bottle of pink sparkling wine. A bouquet of flowers purchased in a hurry on the way home from the office. A filter on the window to simulate a blue moon. Andy Williams crooning "Moon River" or the 101 Strings playing "Light My Fire" in the background. All of the necessary mood-enhancing ingredients for a cozy tête-à-tête on Valentine's Day.

Each week, Torontoist shows off the most interesting, creative, and cool submissions to our Torontoist Flickr Pool. We're especially partial to photos that show our city in a new light, highlight a recent event, and remind us why we live here. Join the Flickr pool and show us what you've got.

As part of the Wintercity festival, France's Cie Carabosse are firing up hundreds of clay pots and metal sculptures, some of which are pleasantly warm to sit on. More images from this fiery spectacular after the jump.

Oh, how this time of the year can be so unexciting. Holidays are done, the New Year has come, and there is not much to look forward to until, well, the new statutory holiday. Until then, Musicologist recommends indulging in the odd show that surfaces from the woodwork and makes trekking through 20-below weather worthwhile. This Friday, for example, is worth that trek: Metal Kites and Great Bloomers are playing the Rivoli for a mere 5 bucks.

Each week, Torontoist shows off the most interesting, creative, and cool submissions to our Torontoist Flickr Pool. We're especially partial to photos that show our city in a new light, highlight a recent event, and remind us why we live here. Join the Flickr pool and show us what you've got.

Still missing some gifts on your holiday list? Here's a last-minute suggestion: the 2008 Toronto Fire Fighter Calendar. What better way to suffer a snow storm than with the company of 12 buff do-gooders? In addition, proceeds go to Princess Margaret Hospital to benefit the Fire Fighters' Cancer Research Fund. We caught up with Mr. July himself, Drew Foote, at a autograph signing at the Bay on Yonge Street this afternoon.