Chris Fox and Joshua Freeman, CP24.com A west-end high school that was the site of a massive six-alarm fire on Tuesday sustained “extensive” smoke and water damage but the structure itself is likely salvageable, officials say. The blaze at York Memorial Collegiate Institute was first detected at around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning; just hours after crews were called to the school for a three-alarm fire that was later contained. At one point there were about 150 firefighters on scene battling the blaze from a defensive position but by Wednesday morning the flames had been knocked down and fewer than a dozen firefighters remained. “We are just helping out the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and trying to hit some of the hot sports that they are pulling out but as far as we are concerned this fire is out,” District Chief Steve Darling told reporters at the scene. Fire mostly contained to auditorium Darling said that the main body of the fire was mostly contained to an auditorium, though he said that there is water and smoke damage throughout the building. He said that it could take a week just to get the water out of the basement of the 90-year-old building, which is “right up to the first floor.” Parts of the roof are also compromised and will need to be rebuilt, he said. “We talked to the engineer and he thinks most of the building can be salvaged,” he said. “That is an initial assessment. We are going to have engineers coming in as well afterwards to do a more comprehensive analysis of the structure of the building and the integrity.” Investigation focused on boiler room The cause of the fire remains unclear, though Darling said that the investigation is largely focused on a boiler room. He said that while crews were called to the school for a fire on Monday, it is too early to say whether it may be connected to the fire that broke out in the early hours of Tuesday. “We haven’t even been in there to do any investigation so we will have to leave that to the OFM (Ontario Fire Marshal),” he said. Classes cancelled for two high schools Classes were cancelled Wednesday for all students from York Memorial C.I., as well as nearby George Harvey Collegiate Institute, which closed yesterday due to smoke from the fire. The TDSB says that students from York Memorial C.I will finish their year at George Harvey Collegiate Institute, though they say that the school will be closed for the rest of the week to give staff time to prepare. Several other schools affected by the blaze yesterday are open, including Keelesdale Junior Public School, Silverthorn Community School, and Charles E Webster Public School. The decision follows air quality testing through the night, the TDSB said. Staff from York Memorial C.I. and George Harvey C.I., meanwhile, reported to Oakwood C.I. on Wednesday. “Social Work staff will be at Oakwood CI to support students & staff as needed,” the TDSB said in a tweet. On Tuesday, plumes of heavy smoke from the six-alarm fire forced school closures and home evacuations as it wafted over the area. Residents were allowed to return to their homes in the evening as smoke conditions improved. Alumni start GoFundeMe campaign On Wednesday former MP Alan Tonks, who is an alumnus of York Memorial, announced an online fundraising campaign to raise funds to preserve the school’s heritage. His son, TDSB Trustee Chris Tonks, said all the funds will go toward preserving York Memorial’s heritage. “We’re not sure where the future lies,” Tonks said. “It’s very early on, but we want to start the planning to preserve the heritage of York Memorial going forward.” [IN PHOTOS: Alumni images of York Memorial Collegiate Institute before a devastating six-alarm fire.] He noted that the original designs for the school’s stained glass windows still exist and restoring them could be part of the effort. While Tonks said he and his father wanted to get the fundraising effort started now, he said the focus at the moment is still very much on getting students back to school. He said the school board is doing “a lot of heavy lifting” to figure out how to get students back to class and organizing a plan for them going forward. He said AP exams have been delayed for affected students and the board is working to make sure that graduating students have no problems in their transition to university. “We don’t want any delay in respect of any kids graduating this year,” Tonks said. The massive fire struck just weeks before a celebration to mark the 90th anniversary of the school. It’s not yet clear if the May 25 celebration will go ahead. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Toronto Fire, the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office and Toronto police. Police have said they are concerned that the fire may be suspicious, but the exact cause has not yet been pinpointed.<doc-sep>Firefighters were forced to demolish parts of York Memorial Collegiate Institute Wednesday in efforts to stamp out the last flames of a six-alarm fire and save the remaining structure. But despite the charred interiors, scarred walls and water damage in the basement – which was almost filled with water – early assessments by engineers are promising, a Toronto Fire Services platoon chief told reporters at the scene. It looks like the building can be saved. The first of two back-to-back fires erupted Monday afternoon – incidentally, on the school’s 90th anniversary. A second blaze ripped through the school early Tuesday morning. Story continues below advertisement By Wednesday, heavy excavation equipment was brought in as a final resort by crews who could otherwise only attack the fire from the outside, owing to the dangerous conditions within the school. The machines clawed into its walls after more than 24 hours of flames, which saw the roof and interior structures partly collapse. A structural engineer was on site to direct the demolition effort, which helped firefighters extinguish hidden hot spots within walls or under debris. Decisions about what to tear down were made carefully, said Toronto Fire Captain David Eckerman, by crews who “want to preserve as much of its heritage value as they can.” The building was given a heritage designation in 1985. Damage to the school’s auditorium and foyer will mean losses to historic features such as the stonework, stained-glass windows and the balcony on the upper level, said Kaitlin Wainwright, the director of programming at Heritage Toronto. “I really understand on a personal and local level to what that feels like to lose a very significant community landmark and a space that, architecturally, is so splendid,” Ms. Wainwright said. Students and staff will have to adjust to a new environment for the remainder of the year, as they will be relocated to neighbouring George Harvey Collegiate Institute. That school, home to about 500 students, fortunately has the room to host another 900 from York Memorial, but staff will have to sort out the logistics of sharing the space and facilities, said Shari Schwartz-Maltz, a spokeswoman for the Toronto District School Board. Story continues below advertisement Classes are cancelled for the remainder of the week to give staff the time to plan, Ms. Schwartz-Maltz said, adding that Grade 12 students will still be on track to graduate. The Toronto Fire investigation team will surrender the scene to the provincial Office of the Fire Marshal to determine the cause of the fire.<doc-sep>The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has sent a letter to parents and students updating them on the state of York Memorial Collegiate Institute after a massive fire broke out at the nearly-century old school earlier this week. In the letter obtained by CityNews, the TDSB says the building remains under the active control of Toronto Fire Services (TFS) and Toronto Police. “Heavy construction equipment excavated parts of the building to assist TFS in its efforts to suppress the fire and ensure no hotspots remained,” the board wrote. “This has resulted in a significant amount of debris on the property and it is not safe for anyone else to be inside or near the building unless authorized by TFS or police. Toronto District School Board (TDSB) security services also has a 24-hour presence at the school.” The board will also be helping students assess what personal belongings were destroyed in the blaze, and retrieve any items that can be salvaged. “We recognize that many of our students and staff had a number of important personal items that were left behind in the building. TDSB staff are in the process of devising a retrieval strategy, including contracting a crew to go into the building and systematically collect and inventory salvageable items.” At the height of the six-alarm fire, at least 150 fire officials were on scene in the area of Eglinton Avenue and Trethewey Drive. The fire caused much of the roof to collapse, along with some of the exterior brick facade along the upper portion of the building. Crews were first called to the school for a two-alarm fire around 2:15 p.m. Monday and found flames visible from the second floor. The fire broke out in the auditorium but was then extinguished. But just before 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, firefighters were called back to the scene after flames and heavy smoke began once again billowing out of the auditorium.<doc-sep>Article content The future for students and year-end activities at the burnt-out York Memorial Collegiate Institute still remains a question mark, even though the fire is out. The historic school at Eglinton Ave. and Trethewey Dr. was on fire for 24 hours after a blaze started early Tuesday. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Plans for York Memorial Collegiate, students uncertain after blaze Back to video The school also had a minor fire on Monday. Toronto District School Board spokesman Ryan Bird said it’s unclear what the future of the school will be and plans are underway to accommodate its 900 students. The board says all students — especially those heading off to post secondary education — will have the opportunity to finish their year, which is set to wrap up in about six weeks. “(We) are working on what the rest of the school year will look like,” Bird said. “Classes have been canceled (for YMCI students) for the rest of the week to allow time for staff to prepare for classes to resume on Monday for the balance of the year.”<doc-sep>
Send this page to someone via email Students from York Memorial Collegiate Institute are returning to class Monday morning at a nearby high school after a fire ripped through the school twice last week. Classes for the approximately 880 York Memorial C.I. students are being held down the road at George Harvey C.I. which has 550 of its own students enrolled. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) tweeted a photo of a welcome sign for the York Memorial students. The TDSB said on their website that they will host a meeting Tuesday evening for parents and students to review details of the plan for the final weeks of the school year. The meeting is open only to families of current students of both York Memorial C.I. and George Harvey C.I., TDSB said. Story continues below advertisement WATCH: Aerial footage of scene as firefighters battle second fire at Toronto high school 6:30 Aerial footage of scene as firefighters battle second fire at Toronto high school Aerial footage of scene as firefighters battle second fire at Toronto high school – May 7, 2019 Firefighters were first called to the Trethewey Drive and Eglinton Avenue West-area school on Monday at around 2:15 p.m. for a fire that erupted in the auditorium. This first fire is being investigated as suspicious, said Toronto police. The fire department was called to York Memorial C.I. again just before 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday as another fire had broken out inside the school. Fire officials said part of the ceiling and roof had collapsed, bricks had come loose and fallen. This six-alarm fire was mostly contained to the auditorium area of the high school. Story continues below advertisement Fire officials said the two blazes are “separate and distinct fires.” Toronto Fire Services Chief Matthew Pegg said “it is very rare” that two fires would break out so close together in the same building. The exact causes of both fires are still under investigation by the office of the Ontario Fire Marshall, Toronto police and Toronto Fire Services. Classes were cancelled for students last week. We are ready to welcome our friends from York Memorial . See you all on Monday!!! @LC1_TDSB @Learningin04 pic.twitter.com/jVAS8lZxNb — George Harvey TDSB (@GHCI_TDSB) May 10, 2019