A Sunday morning fire at the constituency office of a Toronto, Ont. Liberal candidate has been deemed not suspicious by police.
Firefighters were called to the constituency office of Beaches—East York Liberal candidate Mary-Margaret McMahon around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, according to Alex Vashkevich, a spokesperson for the Toronto Fire Service.
Fire crews battled a blaze near the front entrance amidst heavy smoke before the flames were successfully extinguished, said Vashkevich.
Nobody was inside the building at the time of the fire and there were no reported injuries.
Incumbent MPP McMahon said she learned about the fire through a constituent's social media post on Sunday.
She told TorontoToday she was shocked and horrified by the blaze but is thankful everyone is safe.
On Sunday evening, residents in some of the neighbouring buildings had to leave their homes as the fire raged, said McMahon. "I spoke to them and they were in shock themselves, and scared, of course. [But] they're doing OK," she said.
There has been no reported damage to the properties adjacent to the office, located near Danforth and Woodbine avenues, at 7 Glebemount Ave.
What caused the fire?
The incident occurred just days before McMahon is set to try to defend her seat in Thursday’s Ontario provincial election.
Ashley Visser, a spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told TorontoToday in an emailed statement that the district fire chief attended the scene and determined that the fire was not suspicious.
Vashkevich said none of the notes about the fire recorded by those on scene indicate any evidence of arson.
He said the Toronto Fire Service does not yet know the origin of the office fire but will complete a full investigation, as is standard protocol.
'In campaign mode'
McMahon was first elected to the provincial legislature in 2022 when she narrowly bested New Democratic Party challenger Kate Dupuis.
The two will face off again this Thursday, running against Conservative candidate Anna Michaelidis and Green candidate Jack Pennings.
On social media, McMahon describes herself as a community catalyst and an environmentalist. She is the founder of the East Lynn Park Farmer’s market and served as a Toronto city councillor from 2010 to 2018.
Provincial NDP challenger Kate Dupuis is a psychologist, health researcher and professor, currently working for Sheridan College within the school’s Centre for Elder Research.
McMahon said her team is doing their best to park concerns about the blaze and stay entirely "in campaign mode," focused on the race at hand.
She said there's been an outpouring of support from the community since the blaze.
"It's like a true family, really," she said.
