Fire at historic church not considered suspicious so far: Toronto police | CBC News

Police say it’s still unclear what caused a fire that destroyed a historic church in downtown Toronto, along with priceless artifacts inside, but the blaze isn’t considered suspicious.

The four-alarm fire inside St. Anne’s Anglican Church, on Gladstone Avenue near Dundas Street W., was reported to Toronto Fire just before 8 a.m. Sunday. 

Crews monitored the fire overnight, but the church and all artifacts inside were “completely destroyed,” according to a deputy fire chief.

Those artifacts included murals painted by three members of the Group of Seven.

Police and fire crews remained on the scene Monday.

The fire is being investigated by members of Toronto Police Service, Toronto Fire Services and the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management.

It was still too early to determine the “cause, origin, and circumstance” of the fire, Sean Driscoll, a spokesperson for the Office of the Fire Marshal, said in an email Monday.

Since the cause remains unknown, the fire “is not considered suspicious at this time,” Const. Shannon Eames, a spokesperson for Toronto police, said in an email.

Toronto police have set up an online portal where the public can submit any photos or videos that may help assist investigators. It can be found here.

More than just a church

Lily Palsson, who lives next door to St. Anne’s, said she woke up to a pounding at her door Sunday morning.

Police told her she and her family had to leave immediately, as the church fire posed a threat to their house. They grabbed their dog and ran to the end of the street in their pyjamas, Palsson said.

“I looked over and saw there was a halo of smoke around the dome,” she said. “My first thought was, ‘not the church, not the church.'”

Palsson, whose house was ultimately undamaged, said the church was a beautiful building and neighbourhood hub, hosting dinners and concerts that were open to people of all faiths. 

WATCH | St. Anne’s rector: ‘I just felt my heart sink’ 

‘Utterly grand’ Toronto church destroyed by fire, says parish priest

Rev. Don Beyers, a parish priest at St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Toronto, says he ran to the church as he got word of a fire, only to find flames ‘shooting out’ of the historic, art-filled structure.

Unlike Palsson and her family, St. Anne’s rector Don Beyers ran toward the church when he got the news at home.

“I instantly threw on all my clothes and I ran up Queen West,” he said. “When I got there and saw flames shooting out the dome, at that point, I cried.

“I just felt like we’d lost a loved one.”

Lt.-Col. Catherine Askew, a Canadian Armed Forces chaplain who was ordained at St. Anne’s, said the loss extends beyond the parish and the neighbourhood.

She called the destroyed Group of Seven artwork, which the church commissioned in the 1920s, a “profound” loss for Canada.

“That building wasn’t just a church for the Anglicans of that neighbourhood,” she told Metro Morning. “It was a landmark.”

Robin Sewell, who was married in the church and used to give tours focusing on the art and architecture of the building, says the city has lost one of its treasures.

“It looked so beautiful when you went inside. It was like being inside a jewel box,” she said outside the church Monday.

“Now, it’s just gone.”

St. Anne’s Anglican Church was built in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighbourhood between 1907 and 1908. The church was designated a national historic site in 1996. In 1980, the City of Toronto also designated the church under the Ontario Heritage Act.