Toronto city fire
The 1904 Toronto City Fire was a major fire that occurred in downtown Toronto on April 19, 1904 .
The fire was discovered by a police officer on patrol at 8:04 p.m. The flames rose from the elevator shaft of a factory building on Wellington Street West, west of Bay Street . At that time the factory was located in the center of a large industrial and commercial area. The exact cause is still unknown today; however, a technical error or an electrical problem is suspected. The fire continued to spread and could only be brought under control after nine hours. The flames and soot could be seen several kilometers away. The Toronto Fire Department received support from Hamilton and even from Buffalo, USA . The extinguishing work on the night of April 19-20 was made more difficult by strong winds with gusts of snow and temperatures as low as −4 ° C.
The fire destroyed a total of 104 buildings, caused $ 10,350,000 in damage and brought 5,000 short- and medium-term unemployment to the world. However, no person was killed. Toronto had just over 200,000 residents at the time. As a result of the accident, stricter safety regulations were issued and the city fire brigade expanded. It is the largest fire in the city's history.
