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Toronto Fire says crews battled a five-alarm fire, and exploding pyrotechnics, at an Etobicoke business after a vehicle crashed into the fireworks store early Monday morning.
Crews responded to a call just before 2 a.m. about a fire at Phatboy Fireworks, a business in a commercial plaza near Albion Road and Highway 27, said Toronto Fire division commander Robert Hewson. They found an unoccupied vehicle crashed through the storefront, along with “extensive smoke and flames.”
“The building was full of fireworks, which made the fire attack quite challenging,” Hewson said, adding that crews had to use aerial equipment to extinguish the fire.
“It was definitely something outside of the box for us. We’re normally running in to attack the fire, but in this case fireworks were actually shooting out at the firefighters arriving on scene,” he said.
No injuries were reported.
Businesses surrounding Phatboy Fireworks were also damaged by the fire, which was initially classified as a four-alarm blaze, but was later upgraded.
Toronto Fire Service will be working with Toronto police to investigate the fire, Hewson said.
