A “catastrophic failure” of the electrical system at 650 Parliament St. caused an explosion in the electrical room that led to the fire that displaced around 1,500 people last year, according to Toronto Fire Services.

In a Monday news release, Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg confirmed the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal had passed along a report, which has not been made available to the public, detailing the cause of the devastating fire.

“(The report) determined that a catastrophic failure of the electrical system in the building caused an explosion in the electrical room, and smaller explosions and fires throughout the building,” said Pegg in the release.

The six-alarm fire, which took place Aug. 21, 2018 at a residential highrise on Parliament St. between Bloor and Wellesley Sts., burned for more than eight hours and required 100 firefighters and 26 fire trucks to extinguish.

The building’s residents, who have now been displaced for more than a year, are still unable to return to their homes due to ongoing repairs.

Meanwhile, displaced residents of the building have also initiated a class-action lawsuit that seeks $40 million in general, special and punitive damages, according to the notice of action.

Pegg said Toronto Fire would not be making any further comments on the report until their team has had a chance to review it in detail and gained a full understanding of its findings.

Correction - September 10, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said a fire that took place in July at 650 Parliament St. has delayed ongoing repairs. In fact, building management has stated that the July fire did not affect work progress.