Condo tower boasts lake view, flaming roof, ironically named pets

Condo tower boasts lake view, flaming roof, ironically named pets

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire (Image: John McGrath)

Yesterday afternoon, a pillar of billowing smoke was visible throughout most of downtown Toronto. The culprit, it turned out, was a fire on top of a condo tower at Queens Quay—not the armies of Mordor, as it initially appeared. Nobody is quite sure what started the fire on the roof, though crews say there was a barbecue up there. Reports the Globe and Mail:

About 60 firefighters reached the roof through the building’s elevators. Officials considered closing the nearby Gardiner Expressway in case of falling debris but decided the risk wasn’t high enough to disrupt rush-hour traffic.

The Canadian Press reported the smoke could be seen as far away as St. Catharines. But the best tidbit comes from the Toronto Sun: one of the residents, Vanessa Chris, has an ash-coloured cat named Cinder, whom she rushed to safety when she saw smoke. The residents of 260 Queens Quay are lucky the cat wasn’t named Earthquake. (Too soon?)

Two injured in Toronto condo fire [Globe and Mail]
Woman recounts escape from downtown fire [Toronto Sun]
• Queens Quay fire sends two women to hospital [National Post]