As many as 1,500 people had to find a place to sleep Tuesday night after a six-alarm fire blazed through a downtown highrise for at least six hours, eventually forcing the evacuation of the entire building.

One hundred firefighters and 26 fire trucks were dispatched to 650 Parliament St., south of Bloor St. E., shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday. At roughly 9:15 p.m., Toronto fire Chief Matthew Pegg confirmed the blaze had been extinguished.

The remaining smoke had also been cleared, Mayor John Tory and Pegg told reporters at nearby Wellesley Community Centre.

The community centre was set up as an emergency shelter on Tuesday.

Pegg said the fire significantly damaged the St. James Town building and that essential services were not functioning, forcing the evacuation of several hundred remaining residents. “There are no lights, there are no fire protection services and there is no elevator service,” Pegg said.

The building contains about 570 units, he said. The mayor estimated up to 1,500 people were displaced, but said it could be closer to 1,200 or 1,300.

He said some residents had already found places to stay, with relatives or friends.

“One of the things we have said to residents is we will have accommodation for everyone tonight, whether it’s in a hotel, an Airbnb, some kind of donation accommodation or a community facility,” Tory said. “Everybody will have a place to stay tonight.”

There were no serious injuries reported and emergency services were able to get everyone out unscathed. “I’m so proud of all the work our first responders did today,” Pegg said.

He noted that only two minor injuries were reported to him. No emergency responders were hurt.

The Red Cross has equipped the Wellesley Community Centre shelter with food and mats for children to sleep on, Tory said. And he noted people would be provided with transportation to other facilities if necessary.

The city is asking people who are able to help with accommodation to email gtaresponse@redcross.ca.

According to police, the fire started in an electrical box. Pegg said it may take several days until essential services are restored.

Residents were allowed to reenter the building Tuesday night to retrieve pets and collect essentials.

Local Councillor Lucy Troisi said she spent most of the day at the highrise comforting scared residents.

“We’ve bought some toys, we’ve got some halal food and we’re just giving lots of hugs,” she said to reporters Tuesday night.

She also commented on the great work of the first responders and how everyone, including residents, banded together.

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“Everyone had a role,” she said. “EMS was outstanding, our firefighters were great, the police was great, but so was the community.”

“They were so patient, they were so accommodating, they listened to all the instructions,” she said.

“It’s been a long day.”

Claire Floody is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @claire_floody

Ilya Bañares is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @ilyaoverseas

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