First responders were honoured on Valentine’s Day for their steadfast work in extinguishing a massive fire that broke out at a Toronto athletic club one year ago.

“More than 100 brave firefighters fought to keep the fire contained as it escalated to a six alarm blaze,” said Karen Wallace, president of the Badminton and Racquet Club, located near Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. W. “The firefighters kept the Yonge and St. Clair community safe and they saved a key part of this historic building and cherished club intact.”

It was a concerted effort, she continued, and included Toronto Police Service, paramedics and the Toronto Transit Commission.

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No lives were lost during the incident.

Behind representatives at the announcement was a hollowed out section of the club where the blaze had torn through.

“Our memories of that day remind us that we have an incredible community around us,” Wallace said.

A commemorative plaque was given to Tony Bavota, deputy fire chief of Toronto Fire Services, as a token of the club’s appreciation for his department’s work in snuffing out the blaze.

Firefighters were able to ward off the fire to preserve the west side of the building. Next week, it will reopen after a yearlong hiatus (there was internal damage). The east side of the building had to be razed, but in about 18 months, it, too, will reopen to members, Wallace said.

Bavota started working in Toronto for the fire department on Feb. 6, 2017, about a week before the fire began.

“This event brings a whole new level of understanding to the phrase of baptism by fire for me,” he said.

He said first responders arrived at the site about four minutes after the first 911 call was placed. At the fire’s peak, he continued, there were 230 staff members and 69 “fire apparatuses and support vehicles” at the scene.

“With 50 per cent of our fleet committed to this fire, our response performance only fell by nine per cent,” Bavota said. “Toronto Fire Services could not have managed this incident as smoothly as we did without the help of our key partners.”

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Nineteen million litres of water was used to douse the flames, the equivalent of 7.6 Olympic-sized pools, he said.

Linda Smith, a member of the club who works across the street from the facility, recalled the overwhelming smell of smoke in the area that day.

“I walked over and it was astonishing,” she said. “It was very life changing because it is such a part of the community.”

Councillor Josh Matlow called the scene “surreal.”

“It was a tragedy for so many of us,” he said. “But out of that tragedy I experienced some inspiring stories. We often talk how our bureaucracies don’t work well together in the city and sometimes it’s admittedly true, but when it comes to an emergency, everyone comes together and they did that day, so efficiently, so well and, in so many cases, heroically.”