Still no return timeline for people displaced by fire between two Toronto buildings

TORONTO — Officials say there’s still no return timeline for displaced residents of two Toronto high-rise buildings where a fire has been slowly burning for almost a week.

Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop says firefighting efforts at the “unprecedented and extremely challenging” fire at 11 Thorncliffe Park Dr. and 21 Overlea Blvd. will last into next week.

The fire, which started last Thursday, is burning the combustible particle board that was placed in an expansion joint between the two buildings.

Jessop says the fire is burning deep inside a narrow gap between 25 to 50 millimetres wide, which has prevented fire crews from being able to directly access the blaze.

He says the gap contains a slow-burning, compressed wood material, which has made firefighting efforts more difficult.

Jessop says fire officials met Tuesday with city engineers who advised that the buildings should remain empty until further notice.

The engineers recommended “making access through the walls of a number of units” to get at the burning material sandwiched between the buildings, he told reporters Wednesday.

“There is absolutely going to be damage to the units,” Jessop said, especially those on the buildings’ adjoining walls.

A total of 408 units had to be evacuated when the fire broke out, and the city says 239 people from 119 households are now staying in 131 hotel rooms, with support coming from the Canadian Red Cross.

“We know residents are eager to return home, and we share that urgency, but safety must come first,” Jessop said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2025.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press