1 person hurt after e-bike fire at Forest Hill building
One person was injured after an e-bike fire at a residential building in Forest Hill early Monday.
Firefighters were called to the building on Eglinton Avenue W. at around 12:30 a.m. for a reports of a fire in the underground garage.
They arrived to find black smoke coming from the garage and roughly 20 e-bikes ablaze, according to Toronto Fire. Building occupants had already begun evacuating, Division Commander Steve Darling said on Monday morning.
The smoke made its way into the building and a woman was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries, paramedics said.
Darling said the woman suffered smoke inhalation after she went back into the residential building to check whether her family and pets had been evacuated.
Residents forced out of their units by the smoke were able to shelter on TTC buses, he said.
Firefighters stayed at the scene for several hours to ensure the fire didn't flare up again.
Ontario Fire Marshal to investigate source of ignition
The Ontario Fire Marshal will be on scene around noon to investigate the source of ignition, which will include checking the e-bike batteries and chargers, Darling said.
"We can't determine if [the e-bikes] were the source right now until we've done the investigation," he said.
Once an e-bike is fully charged, Darling said it's important to separate the battery from the charger and unplug the charger so they don't overheat.
He added that it's bad practice to alter any chargers or batteries to get a longer life.