A city worker in Hamilton put his life on the line Wednesday morning, rushing into a burning house in the east end to rescue a mother.
There were three people inside when flames broke out at the home, leading to damages of around half a million dollars. The dramatic early morning rescue has neighbors and Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe commending the seasoned city employee for his courage during such perilous circumstances.
The house was left damaged by the fire, but it also became a site of remarkable bravery.
When asked if the employee saved their lives, Cunliffe stated, “I would suggest to you yes, absolutely.” However, he remarked that they were in extreme danger. “Very quickly that individual could have been another victim.”
Just after 7 a. m., a residence on Cope Street caught fire with its three residents trapped inside: an elderly couple in their 70s and their son in his 40s. Neighbors reported seeing large clouds of smoke billowing into the air.
Witnesses shared that everything unfolded rapidly; there was heavy smoke and fire trucks arriving while only smoke was initially visible from the home.
This is when Paul Toth, who works for public works and was heading to catch a bus for work, noticed smoke rising from behind a convenience store and hurried over.
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According to officials, Toth saw someone exiting the home and immediately called 911. He learned from that person that two more individuals were still inside.
The public works worker then dashed into the blazing home, locating one person on the first floor and pulling them toward safety just before being overwhelmed by smoke.
“By then another gentleman had pulled up and then he’d come in and just grabbed her the last two feet,” Toth said.
Toth is a father of five who previously worked as a bus driver with HSR for 23 years. He recounted how he managed to rescue the mother amid chaos.
“She’s about six feet inside the door and I could hear her saying ‘help me,’” Toth said. “Smoke was so thick I couldn’t even see that the door wasn’t quite open all the way so my shoulder hit it and then I pushed it and then a big gulf of smoke came towards me. And then I got down low and I could see her then. And I said, ‘crawl to me’ and she said ‘I can’t, I’ve fallen, my legs hurt, it’s bleeding.’ So I crawled in to her.”
The smoke was so dense he mentioned having to return to the door multiple times during this rescue for fresh air.
“I got her to turn over onto her back, and then I got my arms under her arms and I pulled her a bit,” Toth said. “Finally got her about maybe two feet from the door, so by then she was a lot safer.”
Firefighters managed to retrieve the son from upstairs and extinguished the blaze within about 20 minutes.
Fire Chief David Cunliffe provided an update on an early morning fire in Hamilton on June 17, 2026. (Matt Ingram/CHCH News)
The Ontario Fire Marshal is looking into what caused this incident; however no cause has yet been identified. According to Hamilton Fire officials, there’s nothing suspicious about this blaze.
<p“It shocked me – the first thing – cause we know him,” said neighbor Mike Matias.
Mike and Anabele Matias mentioned that their son faces some developmental challenges but is well-known as an active member of their community.
<p“The garbagemen that does our street every Thursday morning pick him up right outside his house,” Anabele Matias added. “They’ve even given him high-visibility gear … they drive him down our street while he helps them collect garbage.”
When asked what they thought of Toth’s heroism, Mike Matias responded with “That just gave me chills and that’s Hamilton.”
Toth didn’t even take time off work after this incident.
<p“EMS cleared me and I saw the bus and I jumped on and left,” Toth laughed as he shared this detail.
A firefighter from Hamilton also sustained injuries during this rescue effort. He was taken to hospital but has since been released without serious issues.
Hamilton EMS reported all three family members went to hospital due to smoke inhalation along with other injuries; however there’s no update on their condition this evening.
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