A three-alarm fire broke out at the Toronto Humber Yacht Club this morning
“I guess there are people who really don’t want us here,” the club’s vice-commodore told the Toronto Sun
A major three-alarm fire occurred at the Toronto Humber Yacht Club early this morning, requiring 100 firefighters and 27 firetrucks to extinguish it, according to CBC.
The fire caused significant damage to the clubhouse on the Etobicoke lakeside property, with CP24 reporting that the building’s roof collapsed.
“Quite a lot of damage there but no other structures were involved,” Toronto’s deputy fire chief, Paul Fitzgerald, told CBC. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
Related: The Toronto Humber Yacht Club has three months to prove it can behave
The 70-year-old organization has been a source of controversy. City council voted last month to terminate the club’s lease, alleging repeated violations of its lease agreement. Claims about the organization over the years have included alleged encroachment on non-leased lands, unauthorized structures including patios and gazebos and holding bonfires, as well as allegations that operators and members have shown aggressive behaviour. The club’s neighbours have long complained that jet skis and boats threaten the natural habitat along the Humber River.
Club operators have defended the organization. Wilson DaSilva, the club’s vice-commodore, told the Toronto Sun last month that they would contest the city’s decision. “There was a massive injustice done there at city council today, and we’re just not gonna sit down and take it. So we’re gonna fight, and we’re gonna fight really hard on this, and if we have to go legal, we’re gonna go legal,” he said.
Now that the fire is out, the fire department and police will investigate to determine the cause. It is not yet known what prompted the fire, but to the Toronto Sun, DaSilva said today, “I guess there are people who really don’t want us here.”
Related: A new OPP detachment will be built at Ontario Place
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
