ueen Street West denizens - myself included - were awoken early this morning as an armada of fire trucks and an attendant army of firefighters descended on a massive 6-alarm blaze (7-alarms would be the most extreme case). Resultantly, the worried buzzing of my cell phone rendered my alarm clock superfluous.

The fire, which began around 5:00am, reportedly in the basement of a local stereo store, has engulfed at least three buildings on the south side of Queen Street, just west of Portland Street, east of Bathurst.

The inferno has destroyed a handful of businesses, including beloved neighbourhood haunts Suspect Video and Duke's Cycle, and concerns about further spreading linger. Meanwhile, firefighters and police officers have cordoned off Queen Street, from Augusta to Tecumseth and Bathurst from Adelaide to Dundas, and diverted streetcar routes accordingly. As a result, morning commuters have experienced major delays. Westerly winds have blanketed much of the downtown core in grey smoke, moving as far west as Yonge Street and infusing many residents with a campground evoking scent.

A handful of structures on the block have already collapsed while others have experienced severe damage. Out in force, emergency crews continue to battle the fire from pumper trucks, dousing the flames from street level and towering ladders. Arriving on the scene before dawn, firefighters managed to evacuate surrounding buildings before any injuries occurred.