A St. Clair West badminton club is in the process of burning down
The Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto, at Yonge and St. Clair, went up in flames at around 9:30 this morning. As of now, the building is still smouldering as firefighters continue dousing the wreckage. At the height of the blaze, approximately 40 fire engines were on-site. According to the Star, surrounding buildings have been evacuated. The Racquet Club itself is expected to burn to the ground.
During the conflagration, people nearby have been snapping pictures of the damage and posting them online. Here are a few of the clearest shots.
There are lots of office buildings nearby, so many observers found out about the blaze simply by looking out their windows:
Badminton & Raquet Club #toronto is on #fire … Hope everyone got out safely @CityNews pic.twitter.com/nNHdGJ2zMq
— Leyla Rad (@LeylaIr) February 14, 2017
The smoke appears to have been so thick, at times, that it blotted out the sun:
If u smell smoke u r too close. Please avoid St Clair 6 Alarm, unless u live or work in the area pic.twitter.com/atkAtyHvNd
— Toronto Fire Service (@Toronto_Fire) February 14, 2017
The trouble was visible from quite a distance:
There is a HUGE fire at Yonge and St. Clair right now. This pic doesn't do it justice pic.twitter.com/PN1noSyRWi
— Nate (@NKB121) February 14, 2017
This mural, by Phlegm, has been playing an unfortunate co-starring role in the drama:
Looks like there is a fire at Yonge and St.Clair pic.twitter.com/r9TYvA2DRu
— Violetta Plocica (@VPlocica) February 14, 2017
If you look really closely, you’ll see firefighters on the roof of the building:
Fire at Yonge & St Clair seems to be getting worse. @CP24 @CTVToronto @globalnewsto #TorontoFire pic.twitter.com/uF1FZCeDjL
— Sarah (@sarahU277) February 14, 2017
Here’s a video of the flames:
6 alarm fire on St Clair at Yonge st. pic.twitter.com/rqfFLdANnI
— Alfredo Colangelo (@CityAlfredo) February 14, 2017
And another one:
Flames now shooting through the roof of the #Raquetclub at Yonge and St Clair #fire #Toronto pic.twitter.com/L1yszWG8Qu
— Lyndsey Vanstone (@VanstoneL) February 14, 2017
