At least 16 horses are confirmed dead in a two-alarm blaze Monday morning at Sunnybrook Stables inside of Sunnybrook Park, near Eglinton Avenue and Leslie Street.
The fire broke out just after 3 a.m. in the historic stables, which at one time housed Toronto Police horses.
Toronto Fire acting platoon chief Glen Sherwood confirmed in a Monday morning press conference at the park that they initially responded to a resident living in a nearby condo who alerted them to the flames.
"The reports we initally got were from the apartments buildings on Leslie," he said. "Once we came in and determined it was on fire they called it for a 2nd alarm. We had 16 trucks show up to fight the fire."
Toronto Fire District Chief Stefan Powell told NEWSTALK1010 between 40 and 50 firefighters responded to the call, tackling the fire in the main barn and adjoining barn.
"Once we responded we found the barn that was on fire," he said. "There were a number of horses in the facility there. Firefighters worked very hard to bring the fire under control."
A total of 13 horses were rescued and transported down to the police stables at Exhibition Place.
Originally, both services said there was a possibility that some of the horses housed in the stables may have been spooked by the fire and escaped into Sunnybrook Park, but officials have since confirmed all of the animals have been accounted for.
The park was closed for a short time but has since re-opened, with the areas around Sunnybrook Stables remaining cordoned off for the investigation.
Investigators spoke with reporters on Tuesday afternoon and confirmed that the fire is not considered suspicious.
However, the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshall hasn't yet determined a cause, only a location where they believe the fire started.
"We basically determined the area of origin for the fire to be on the upper level of the barn, but were still working on determining a cause."
Mayor John Tory visited the site of the fire late Monday afternoon and was moved by what he saw.
"I think one of the joys that often kids would certainly have, and I did as a boy, is to come here and you'd see the horses," Tory said. "Sometimes people were having lessons, sometimes they were just outside grazing, and I think that's a great thing inside a big city, for some kids who would never see a horse elsewhere. That's part of this tragedy."
"It's a tragedy when you lose animals like this," he added. "It's just a part of what makes it a very sad occasion, both historically in terms of these buildings being here, and of course for the horses."
Tory said he and his daughter-in-law were discussing how much Sunnybrook Stables meant to them immediately after he heard the news.
Toronto Fire expects to be on scene of the blaze for much of the coming week. The building is said to be structurally unsound and as a result, crews aren't yet able to recover the bodies of the 16 horses that perished.
- With files from Claude Feig, Jackie Rosen and Dave Bradley