Drake’s Ice Installation for New ‘Iceman’ Album Brings Headaches to Toronto

A parking lot in Toronto was transformed into a monolithic ice palace on Monday at the behest of the rapper Drake. By Wednesday morning, fire crews were hosing it down.

Since the installation was erected to promote Drake’s upcoming album, “Iceman,” droves of fans, passers-by, social media personalities, news broadcasters and curious residents flocked to the site. But the chaos, which included people climbing the 25-foot-tall structure and others using blowtorches to melt it, also attracted the Toronto Fire Services because of safety concerns.

“Large numbers of individuals have gathered to attempt to melt the ice using flammable liquids and open flames in an uncontrolled environment, which results in an immediate threat to life,” Jim Jessop, the city’s fire chief, said in a statement.

Live television footage on Wednesday morning showed a pressurized stream of water being sprayed from a fire truck’s crane onto the depleted pile of ice blocks.

The crowds came after Drake suggested in an Instagram post that the installation held the release date for “Iceman.” The structure started drawing crowds hours after it was completed on Monday night. Some hacked at the ice blocks with pickaxes, hammers and other sharp tools. The police tried to contain the people at the lot, which is a five-minute walk from a major hospital.

Drake also made an appearance during the construction before the fire crews went into action.