To watch a video of the massive fire at Perl’s Meat Shop, click HERE.

A massive fire has all but destroyed a well known business in Toronto’s Frum community. Crews arrived en masse to fight the huge blaze, which broke out on top of the Perl’s Meat store at Bathurst and Lawrence just after the business closed.

It started around 4:30pm and escalated from a two-alarm conflagration to a four-alarm inferno, burning the top floor located above the store.

Fears the roof might collapse added to the urgency as at least 80 firefighters riding in 18 trucks poured litres of water onto the structure in the gathering afternoon darkness.

“I will have to continue,” said a grim faced Elliot Perl, owner of the store.   “We will have to see what we can do.”

The plaza houses several different kinds of food shops, including a fish vendor, restaurants and at least five other businesses.

Firefighters managed to tame the flames after a few hours, although the fire continued to burn inside the walls, creating a dangerous situation. The only good news  – there don’t appear to have been any injuries, although a firefighter may have slightly hurt his arm.

Fire officials say fighting the blaze was challenging because of obstructions on the second floor.

“They (firefighters) were having to move boxes and the passageways were narrow,” explained Div. Commander Lorne Buckingham.

The store had been packed just hours earlier with shoppers getting ready for Shabbos.

It’s not clear what started the blaze or where the flames originated.