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Toronto paramedics say a woman is in life-threatening condition after emergency services were called to a fire Sunday morning.

Police said they were called to the area of Bellamy Road and Eglinton Avenue East just before 11 a.m.

A police spokesperson told Global News a neighbour upstairs reported hearing an explosion, but officers could not confirm if there was one or not.

They said emergency crews found a woman, who is believed to be in her 30s, in the stairwell.

Paramedics said the patient was in cardiac arrest at one point. She was taken to Scarborough General Hospital in life-threatening condition.

READ MORE: 2 Toronto fire inspection companies charged with fire code violations

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Toronto Fire Services said when firefighters arrived, there was heavy smoke coming from the balcony. A spokesperson said the fire was quickly knocked down and firefighters worked to ventilate the building.

Fire Chief Matthew Pegg later told Global News firefighters entered the suite of origin, which was on the second floor of the building.

“They very quickly controlled the fire and prevented it from spreading to other units,” he said.

“Unfortunately in the course of the primary search they did discover one occupant inside the building. She was immediately rescued and removed to the outside.” Tweet This

Pegg said her vital signs were absent when they found her, he was told, and firefighters began performing CPR before transferring the patient to paramedics.

He added that working on hot days can prove to be a challenge for firefighters.

“These fires on a day that is as hot and humid as it is today [are] very, very tough on our firefighters so we need to send so much extra resources,” he said.

“There are two real challenges today for fire fighters: one is keeping them hydrated and second is keeping their core temperature at a safe level.”

Meanwhile, other residents were unscathed and Adam Duncan said it was his cat, Weezy, who made sure that was the case for him.

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“He woke me up. He came in and jumped on me,” he said.

“So when I woke up he’s like, ‘get up, this isn’t a drill, this is a real fire,’ so I was like oh my god. So I got the cat and raced out.” Tweet This

Investigators said they’re still looking into the cause of the fire.

Police responding to a fire call, Bellemy & Cedar Brae area. 2nd flr balcony fire, reprts of an explosion heard. Further to follow. #GO1100063 ^gl — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2018

UPDATE: we have located 1 female in stairwell and EMS are tending to her. update soon ^gl — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2018