Apartments evacuated after sewage backup in Etobicoke

About 16 people were forced from apartment towers Monday night after a sewage backup in Etobicoke.

Toronto Fire got a call just before 10 p.m. for a major sewage line flowing into buildings near Bloor Street West and Old Mill Road, said Capt. David Eckerman.

Residents were evacuated from the lower floors of two apartment towers, said Plantoon Chief Dave Fairman.

Fluids were also flowing into parking and storage space in a third tower across the street, he said.

A “large volume of water” and raw sewage was flowing into the buildings, Eckerman said.

Fairman said one apartment unit was “affected heavily” by the backup, while fluids were spreading into others.

The city arranged temporary housing for six people, he said, while others residents found their own place to stay.

There was a blockage in an underground sewage line causing the leak, Fairman said.

Toronto Water sent a high-pressure vacuum truck to the scene.

The Ministry of Health has also been notified.