On Feb 20 at just past 7am, Toronto Fire Services responded to an emergency call from an apartment above a bar at 488 Parliament St, which reportedly was filling with smoke.
According to Toronto Fire Captain Adrian Ratushniak, who was not at the scene, it was determined that the source of the fire was downstairs in the Flying Beaver, a gay-friendly dinner theatre and comedy club hall.
“The crews did not find anything in the apartment so they went downstairs in the bar area, located the fire in the back of the bar or restaurant, extinguished it quickly and started clearing the smoke,” Ratushniak says, adding that the possible cause was the electrical failure of a refrigerator or freezer. At the scene, it was determined that the fire started behind a chest freezer at the compressor.
The owners of The Flying Beaver Pubaret could not be reached for comment, but a note on their website says the bar will be closed until further notice.
Ratushniak tells Daily Xtra that two people evacuated the building safely. There is no foul play suspected in this incident.
The estimated contents and property lost is $40,000, according to Toronto Fire Services.
HG Watson can be reached at hg.watson@dailyxtra.com or @hg_watson on Twitter.
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