Deadly fires: The risk of death and injuries is highest in poor neighbourhoods

New analysis of Toronto fire data shows lower income wards face more severe outcomes from fires

Carly Penrose
Carly is a Toronto-based journalist. She holds a master of journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. Her work has appeared in the National Post, This Magazine and The Canadian Press.
More posts by Carly Penrose.

Carly Penrose

22 April, 2024 • 6 min read

Three fire trucks are parked on a street as they fight a fire and the sky is full of smoke

Toronto Fire Services puts out a four-alarm blaze near Leeds Street and Ossington Avenue in 2022. A new analysis has found that there were more injuries and deaths from fires in Toronto's low-income wards compared to higher-income areas. (Robert Krbavac/CBC News)

(This story is a collaboration between the Investigative Journalism Foundation and CBC Toronto.)

It was cold. That’s the first thing Becca Young remembers about Jan. 15, 2022. The second thing she remembers is the smoke, billowing up into the sky, from down the street.

Deadly fires: The risk of death and injuries is highest in poor neighbourhoods

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