A paint can with wiring attached to it was set on fire and made to look like a bomb in order to threaten a neighbourhood near Bloor Street West and Lansdowne Avenue, Toronto fire offcials said.

The landlord of 29 Wade Avenue contacted police after he arrived at the building and noticed a can of paint with wires attached to it. There was also a small fire that has since been extinguished.

It was determined to not be a bomb.

"We live in a city full of great, great people but in a city this big and this complex, we will have some wackos and some people who maybe want to threaten others or upset the community," said District Fire Chief Paul Halls.

For that reason, he said they have to treat every possible threat seriously.

"We are not happy about it. You are not happy about it. But this is life," Halls told reporters.

The landlord believed it was a bomb, and authorities treated it as a bomb call.

Occupants of the building and neighbouring homes were evacuated while officials in hazardous materials outfits investigated.