Thorncliffe Park highrise fire burning after four days as hundreds displaced

A residential apartment fire that has displaced hundreds of people from two buildings in Toronto is still burning slowly four days on, fire officials said Monday.

The smouldering fire, believed to be burning through insulation trapped in the walls between two Thorncliffe Park highrise towers, was still active as crews continued working to put it out.

Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop said the fire is burning the combustible particle board that was placed in the expansion joint between the two buildings and crews are not able to access that material to stop the fire.

“That is causing us the problem, and access to getting to this is next to impossible for our crews. And we have been trying everything,” he said.

“If you can imagine a cigar burning slowly up and up without visible flames, this is what my staff have been dealing with since Thursday afternoon at 1:30, with no way to access it.”

Jessop said he has not seen a complex fire like this in his 30 years of service with Toronto fire.

“I’ve obviously been meeting with our senior operations commanders that have been with Toronto Fire Service for 40 years. They have never seen something as complex as this,” he said.

“We were up on the roof this morning, and there was visible smoke still coming out. And you’re talking after four days of our staff continuously fighting this fire, literally, both exteriorly from the roof and into units right now on the interior side.”

Jessop said a team of engineers from Toronto Fire Service, Toronto Building and the building’s owners are working together to try to come up with ideas on how to quickly extinguish the fire.

He said the investigation into the origin, cause and circumstances of the fire is ongoing.

Close to 400 units had to be evacuated on Thursday when the fire broke out and carbon monoxide levels spiked.

On Monday, evacuees from two buildings were still without a timeline for a return to their homes.

Joanna Beaven, the executive director of Toronto emergency management, said a total of 141 households that represent 293 individuals are receiving support from the Canadian Red Cross.

She said the displaced individuals that are receiving help are staying in 117 hotel rooms.

Beaven said the city has extended the emergency support for evacuated residents including hotel rooms, food, hygiene products and transportation until Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2025.

The Canadian Press