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Toronto Fire crews are hosing down and trying to melt a massive formation of ice blocks installed by Drake to promote his upcoming album.
It comes after some Torontonians took extreme measures, such as starting fires atop the ice or using sledgehammers to break it apart, in an attempt to discover the release date of the rapper’s long-awaited “Iceman” album.
In the interest of public safety, Fire Chief Jim Jessop issued a statement Tuesday evening that he was initiating measures under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act due to “dangerous and unsafe activities.”
“As Toronto’s Fire Chief, my top priority is keeping Torontonians safe,” he said. “Large numbers of individuals [had] gathered to attempt to melt the ice using flammable liquids, and open flames in an uncontrolled environment which results in an immediate threat to life.”
While the work by fire crews is appreciated, it’s “disappointing” to see the structure come down earlier than planned, said Michael Gingerich, owner of Mawg Design, which collaborated with Drake’s team to create the sculpture.
They never anticipated as large of a turnout of fans, or that some people would show up with pickaxes and blowtorches, he said on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Wednesday.
“The intention was to make a statement. This is a big moment for Toronto … for Drake … and all the fans,” said Gingerich. “But it was great to see a great turnout, maybe a bit more than we anticipated.”
Drake confirmed that his new album would arrive on May 15, after a streamer found a hidden folder in the ice on Tuesday. (Paul Smith/CBC)
A Toronto Fire unit and aerial firetruck responded to requests by police around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and have been spraying the blocks with warm water overnight, Capt. Alex Vashkevich told CBC News Wednesday morning.
Photos showed crowds still gathering outside the barricades around 12:49 a.m. as crews doused the structure and water flooded a nearby road.
The structure, which was 16 blocks high on Tuesday, remains partially intact with one side slowly melting as crews continue to hose it down Wednesday morning.
On Monday, the rapper took to Instagram to share images of the glacial installation along with coordinates to its location and the caption: “Release date inside.”
A streamer who goes by Kishka appeared to have found a blue folder hidden within one of the ice blocks Tuesday afternoon, revealing the album is set to drop on May 15. Drake confirmed the date on his social media Tuesday evening.
The sculpture was composed of thousands of blocks of ice from a company in Hensall, Ontario, said Michael Gingerich, owner of Mawg Designs, which collaborated with Drake’s team to create the installation. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
No plans to recoup city enforcement, melting costs: Chow
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she supports Jessop’s decision, but can also understand why fans got so excited.
“Drake is a big supporter of our city and there’s so much excitement across our city towards this new Drake album,” she said at an unrelated news conference. “It is our responsibility to make sure people are safe.”
There are no plans currently to recoup the costs of police enforcement or melting the structure, she said.
But Chow added the city will check back with police and Jessop, as well as “chat” with Drake.
CBC News has reached out to the City of Toronto to see what the latest events have cost the city and if permits were requested, or even required for this project.
WATCH | Torontonians gathered around Drake’s ice block installation:
Drake’s ice block stunt creates fan chaos in downtown Toronto
Toronto police were called to manage chaotic crowds at Drake’s latest publicity stunt, a large pile of ice blocks in downtown Toronto that held the release date of his next album.
The sculpture was made up of a few thousand blocks of Canadian ice from a company in Hensall, Ont., with each block measuring about 50 centimetres by 101 centimetres by 25 centimetres, said Gingerich.
Drake’s team reached out to the Toronto-based company with “a big vision” to engineer and design a stable structure, he said.
“We’re sad that we won’t be able to ride it through as originally intended,” said Gingerich, adding that a lot of work went into considering the safety of the structure.
“We wanted the fans to be able to enjoy it for as long as possible.”
Toronto Fire worked through the night and into Wednesday morning to melt Drake’s ice block installation (Ishitaa Chopra/CBC)
A few Toronto residents trekked out early Wednesday morning to take in the blocks of ice as crews continued to hose it down.
“It was worth it. Definitely had to see it while it was here,” said Drake fan Amelia Whatman, who arrived early in the morning with her mother Casandra Harding-Whatman to take sunrise photos with the structure.
Harding-Whatman says she suspects there are some surprises still hidden in the ice. She said they’re planning to come back and check on the sculpture later in the day.
“Something is still in the ice. There must be at the very, very bottom,” she said.
Gingerich said people will have “to wait and see” if anything else will be discovered in the melting ice.
