Fire in Dundas Street building sees dozens of firefighters called to help

A section of Dundas Street in Old East Village was closed for several hours following a fire in a vacant commercial building Thursday morning.

The fire sent clouds of smoke billowing into the skies above and the streets around the building at 737 Dundas St., and prompted the closure of Dundas, between Hewitt and Lyle streets.

"It looks like it was an old commercial storefront building that was boarded up. It was a deep seated fire and [crews] made a quick effort to get it under control within 35 to 40 minutes," said Platoon Chief Colin Shewell.

Firefighters were notified of the fire at around 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, Shewell said, adding that no injuries have been reported and no one was found inside the building.

Shewell said the fire broughtseven trucks, and a total of around 30 firefighters to the scene, with work expected to continue to identify and extinguish hot spots. One truck was reassigned from the area around Western University to assist.

"We've activated our fire prevention inspectors to come and start an investigation," Shewell said.

He added that it's too soon to say the extent of the damages, or the cost, but that updates will be provided as the fire department learns more.