Two homes and multiple vehicles in Richmond Hill were engulfed in flames when crews say they arrived to a “chaotic” fire that left one man dead early Wednesday morning. The fire broke out on Crosby Avenue, near Bayview Avenue. Two homes were ablaze when firefighters arrived on scene, along with three vehicles parked in a driveway between the residences. A 69-year-old man pulled from the flames was without vital signs at the scene and was later pronounced dead in hospital, police confirmed to CP24. “People were panicking, running out of the home, people screaming, still trapped,” Richmond Hill Fire Chief Tom Raeburn told reporters on Wednesday. He said the firefighters who responded all described it as the most “chaotic scene they’ve ever been to.” Raeburn noted that vehicle fires were blocking some of the entrances to the houses, making it difficult for crews to get inside. One man, he said, was rescued from a basement window. The cause of the fire is not yet known but Raeburn it is too early to say whether the incident is suspicious. The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) will attend the scene to investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances surrounding the fire.
