Elderly man dies after fire breaks out at Markham house

An elderly man has died and a woman is in hospital after a fire broke out at a townhouse in Markham at around 1 p.m. on Thursday.

An elderly man is dead and a woman is in hospital after a fire broke out at a house in Markham on Thursday.

Fire crews responded to a house fire in the area of Pillar Rock Crescent and Hazelton Avenue, north of Victoria Square Boulevard and Major Mackenzie Drive East.

Markham fire chief Chris Nearing said crews encountered a “large volume” of flames in the garage that spread into the rest of the home.

Viewer video shared with CP24 shows a heavy flames and thick black smoke billowing out of the garage where a vehicle is on fire. A firefighter is seen dousing the flames.

Nearing said one resident was able to evacuate after being notified by a working smoke alarm. She suffered critical injuries and was taken to the hospital.

“She also reported to our crews that there was another resident of the home still inside. Crews made an aggressive interior attack. Quickly located the resident and moved him to the exterior and put him in care of York Regional Paramedic Services,” Nearing said.

However, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neighbouring homes were also evacuated. The cause, origin and circumstances of the fire are unknown.