One dead after fire at east-end Toronto apartment building

TORONTO — One person is dead after a fire at an apartment building in Toronto’s east end.

Firefighters say they were called to a fire in a residential unit on the 16th floor of a building near Neilson Road and McLevin Avenue shortly before 8 a.m.

Deputy Fire Chief Paul Fitzgerald says one person was found without vital signs inside the unit and that person was pronounced dead by paramedics.

He says firefighters arrived to the unit three minutes after the fire was reported and found all of the living area was ablaze.

Fitzgerald says they were able to put out the fire, and the flames didn’t spread to other units.

He says the whole floor was evacuated and residents will be allowed to return later.

Fitzgerald says firefighters are working with Toronto police and the Ontario fire marshal’s office to determine the circumstances, origin and cause of the fire.

Another fire at an apartment building in St. James Town this morning sent four people to hospital.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2026.