Toronto firefighters are now in control of a massive blaze that broke out in a recycling facility in the Port Lands early Thursday.Smoke billowed into the sky throughout the night above the fire at a Green For Life recycling facility on Cherry St., which spread to a neighbouring building filled with used mattresses.Speaking at the scene overnight, Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said the initial six-alarm fire “escalated through the alarm levels very quickly” as the building was “fully engulfed.” By 8:50 a.m., Pegg confirmed that the blaze had been downgraded to a two-alarm status.“There’s extensive damage in the structure, the roof has collapsed,” said Larry Coco, chief of fire investigations.“Considering the amount of fuel load in the structure — there`s recyclables consisting of plastic, and cardboard — there`s an extensive fuel load coupled with the load of the adjacent building with all the mattresses.”According to Pegg, some equipment was being pulled from the scene as firefighters brought the blaze under control, but said their work would likely continue there throughout the day after what he’d earlier called “a long night for our crews.”Fire investigators say the origin of the fire is “where the recyclables were handled.”“Not the garbage side, but the recycling side,” said Coco.According to Pegg, everyone inside the facility was able to get out of the building safely. “Two employees from GFL were assessed by Toronto Paramedic Services and released, and I’m not aware of any injuries to our crew,” he said. The location of the fire, on the shore of Lake Ontario, allowed firefighters to douse the flames with lake water drawn by the William Lyon Mackenzie fire boat. Pegg said they were able to pump tens of thousands of litres per minute through the boat, which became “a key source of protection for the mattr ...
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