Toronto Fire Service processed nearly 1,700 calls in response to daily rain record

July 17, 2024, Toronto — Toronto Fire Service (TFS) communications staff processed nearly 1,700 calls and dispatched firefighters to almost 500 incidents between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. on July 16.

The calls included over 50 elevator rescue calls, over 50 water calls and over 20 people being rescued from cars and buildings, resulting from the significant rain that hit the city, TFS reported in a social media post.

The city saw nearly 100 millimetres of rain in a three-hour period, causing closures of a section of the Don Valley Parkway and a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway.

Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said in an interview with CBC News the amount of rain surpassed the city’s daily record set in 1941.

Neighbouring cities also experienced flooding, with Mississauga Fire having to evacuate 114 residents from their flooded nursing home after a nearby creek overflowed.