Keshabaa Malassan’s life is filled with uncertainty in the wake of a six-alarm fire that forced his family to evacuate from their home.His family was among the 1,500 residents of the highrise at Parliament and Bloor Sts. who had to find other places to live Tuesday after the blaze sent heavy smoke through the building. It’s not clear when they can return home. He does not know when he’ll be able to return to work at the local grocery store.“We’ve lived here for 15 years but this is the most awful fire event I can remember,” he said. Malassan was deep asleep when he heard the fire alarm go off Tuesday.With the power off and no working elevator, he and his wife and child took the stairs from the 11th floor, leaving “everything” behind.“We were all terrified,” he said. “Very tired when we got outside.”City of Toronto officials and Red Cross Canada opened two centres as 24-hour emergency shelters for affected residents — the nearby Wellesley Community Centre on Sherbourne St. and the Regent Park Community Centre at Shuter St.Malassan and his family found an emergency bed at the Wellesley centre.He returned to 650 Parliament St. on Wednesday to line up to collect their belongings, and said he was told only smoke reached their floor.The fire broke out at around 1 p.m. Tuesday, and 100 firefighters and 26 fire trucks were called. Roughly eight hours later, the fire was extinguished, Toronto fire chief Matthew Pegg told reporters at the building. Four minor injuries were reported.On Wednesday, police were working to get people in and out of the building to gather their belongings. Outside, fire crews could be seen working around the water and electricity lines.A fire services spokesperson declined to say exactly how long the investigation would take, but described the process as “expeditious.”The city said about 500 people have registered for help. They included 37 people housed in ...
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