UPDATE: Fire reduces homes under construction in Vaughan to rubble

Approximately 71 housing units under construction in Vaughan, Ont. have been damaged or destroyed after a massive fire burned out of control for hours.

“That included 32 detached homes, 21 townhouses and 16 were classed as fire breaks which were the basement with just a first floor decking on it,” Deputy Fire Chief Grant Moffatt told the Daily Commercial News.

The blaze broke out at the residential subdivision in the area of Pine Valley Drive and Teston Road on Wednesday (April 12) at about 1 p.m. At the height of the fire, the thick, black, billowing smoke could be seen from Toronto.

When emergency crews arrived on scene a few homes were impacted but due to the windy and warm weather conditions the fire quickly spread to the neighbouring homes.

“We’ve got multiple homes all lost,” reported Moffatt one hour after the call came in.

“Crews enroute reported heavy smoke in the area,” Moffatt stated later. “It was upgraded immediately to a second alarm.”

It took crews about two-and-a-half to three hours to get the fire under control.

FRONT-DCN-AG_FireDestroysVaughanHomes4(web) — 1/3
ANGELA GISMONDI — The windy weather conditions made the fire spread quickly to surrounding homes and made it difficult to control. It took two-and-a-half hours for crews to control the blaze.

FRONT-DCN-AG_FireDestroysVaughanHomes3(web) — 2/3
ANGELA GISMONDI — The massive blaze broke out at 1 p.m. and at 8 p.m. fire crews were still on scene as the fire was still smoldering. More than 50 firefighters were on scene and more than a dozen pieces of equipment were used. Two firefighters are reported to have suffered minor injuries.

DCN-AG_FireDestroysVaughanHomes2(web) — 3/3
ANGELA GISMONDI — The Ministry of Labour and the Office of the Fire Marshal have been notified. The investigation is ongoing.

“Once the crews arrived on scene they determined we had three buildings on the west end of the site on fire,” said Moffatt. “Due to the wind and the temperatures today it did spread to the adjoining buildings. Without wind you may get the opportunity to control it to three or four homes but in homes under construction the spread is very rapid.”

The homes are part of the Klein Estates by builder Lindvest and reports indicate some were valued around $2 million. Those who purchased the homes were set to move in later this year.

More than 50 firefighters responded along with police and paramedics. In all 13 trucks and four chief officers were on scene to battle the blaze. Crews remained on the scene through the night as it continued to smolder.

Two firefighters were taken to hospital with minor injuries but have since been released. No other injuries were reported as a result of the incident. There were construction workers present at the time of the fire, Moffatt confirmed.

The incident is currently under investigation and the cause of the fire has not been determined.

The Ontario Fire Marshal is on the scene and conducting an investigation. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development was notified and will be attending the scene.

There were several road closures in the area as a result of the fire but neighbouring subdivisions were not evacuated.