Fire on Queen St. - Toronto

A 6 alarm fire took out 14 addresses at the intersection of Queen and Bathurst on Wednesday, February 20, 2008. I took this shot around 8AM close to Ossington and Bloor. It shows a huge plume of smoke emanating from the site, blowing eastwards across the downtown core. A burnt smell permeated downtown throughout the morning.

Luckily there were no fatalities and only minor injuries. Some beautiful heritage buildings have been lost, as well as some longstanding businesses, including Duke's Bicycle, where I bought my first bike.

Wider shot: flickr.com/photos/aard_vark/2279666496

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Comments

n+s says:

eerie.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

jasonnolan says:

that's amazing. you're farther out than I am at college and bathurst, and you got the angle that I couldn't get. cool.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

hypersapiens says:

Good shots! Whereabouts were you shooting from?
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

aardvark. says:

This shot was taken near Bloor and Dovercourt.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Seb Speier says:

this has an ominous 9/11 esque feeling to it.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

.Barrie [deleted] says:

Great shot. I saw it while browsing the National Post newspaper website.

I couldn't see that they gave you any credit. I hope they were decent enough to offer payment.
.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

syncros says:

great skyline shot of this sad day.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Delerina says:

jeepers
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Chocao [deleted] says:

ahhhhhhh,.....
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

tommy630greg says:

nice shot !
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Timhaiti says:

Explore front page my friend! Great capture!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

*Allison says:

Fantastic shot! I didn't even hear about the fire. I'm not that far away!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Tony Lea says:

Excellent!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

aka Shasha says:

Just want to let you know that your photo was posted here (with credit):
torontoist.com/2008/02/massive_fire_hi.php

Great shot...thanks for sharing.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

atomareaufruestung says:

found this picture on the explore page (start page....-> www.flickr.com/explore/)!!!!
congrats ;-D
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Mute* says:

Great great shot, really puts the whole thing in perspective.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

stuartguthriemusic says:

Fantastic capture! I'm sorry to hear about all of the injuries and damage.

Stu :-)
www.myspace.com/stuartguthriemusic
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

scarletstarlet says:

I posted this in my LJ, but linked back to your flickr. I hope that's okay.

It's a fantastic shot.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

NilzXX says:

Fantastic! I never knew this happened here.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

sar_m says:

This is such a beautiful capture of a very sad moment.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

● Sebαstiαn Vαlenzuelα. says:

pretty!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

jvp_solar says:

Thought that maybe the CN tower got leased to N.A.S.A.
Great capture on bad theme
9/11 no but still scary
hope all is well
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

luvhumpbacks [deleted] says:

good thing no one was hurt. -seen from explore
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Dan Sutton (mailmandan) says:

Cool shot and congrats for making the front page of Explore.
Well done!!
Danny :o)
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Eugene1959 says:

Nice shot.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

ShonaMarit says:

I saw this fire on the news tonight. What a shame that those beautiful old buildings were lost! You did an amazing job capturing it.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Saleem Azad says:

Nice pic....beauty of a tragedy....!!!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Leaca's Philosophy says:

Awwwww sad! Great capture!

--
Seen on the explore page. (?)
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

LeeMo & the Sky ! says:

Looks like a rocket taking off..
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

melui says:

Impressive!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

digital kid2007 says:

Your photo has inspired me!!!!
Please join our group and add this photo to
Share your best with the World
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Astrologue63 says:

Your Photo is superb ! please post this beautiful picture at
¡Su foto es magnífica! fije por favor este cuadro hermoso en
Votre photo est superbe ! veuillez oster cette belle image à
Magnifica foto! Por favor partilha-a connosco e envia para
Experimentation Group .
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Jean Knowles says:

Incredible shot -- you had a great vantage point!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Luiz Henrique Assunção says:

Looks like a rocket!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

crsrusl says:

good capture!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

x_Gothick_Musician_x [deleted] says:

holy moses, i thought a bomb had gone off there when i saw this! great shot, though.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

4theloveofnature [deleted] says:

Amazing capture, but it's good to here noone was killed. I love how you got the CN Tower in the shot too!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Sara Street says:

great capture... too bad about downtown toronto...
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

PlimePies says:

Great picture.
So sad about the over 100 year old buildings and peoples lives uprooted.
We are loosing our history to Condos and fires. :-(
(Crazy how the entire city looks like it's on fire)
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Photo Twister says:

I too thought I was looking at a rocket taking off.
Great Capture.
Seen in "Last 7 days / Explore / Interestingness"
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

delitefulimage says:

Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

jọ∫ёmаnuel says:

una instantanea impactante
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

Andrea Kollo says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Terrific Toronto {Please Comment} if not what's the point, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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Uploaded using Flickr Uploadr 3.0 (Mac)
Taken on February 20, 2008
Viewed 4,131 times

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