Toronto's most loved and hated McDonald's at Queen St. W and Spadina Ave. was the scene of another dramatic incident on Thursday night, though this one (for once) did not appear to be criminal in nature.

Onlookers in the area were confused and concerned to see flames overtaking the middle of the intersection around midnight, directly in front of the infamous fast-food location that has its own heritage plaque and has served as the backdrop for stabbings, fights, and many, many more shenanigans.

One person with an overhead view shared a snapshot of the blaze to Reddit, giving rise to a flurry of jokes about what could possibly be going on, about the lore of this specific McDonald's, and, naturally, Back to the Future.

What is happening at Queen and Spadina??
byu/waxyjim intoronto

While some quipped that "that's what happens when your DeLorean hits 88.8mph" and "the prophecy foretold the gates of hell would open outside that McDonald's," others were able to provide more realistic explanations.

Based on comments from a few who claim to have been present at the time, it seems that there was a film shoot taking place at the corner — specifically, some speculate, for local comedy series Nirvanna the Band the Show.

One witness wrote that police and security personnel were all on site to oversee the set and block traffic (of which there was little at that hour) as crews poured gasoline on the asphalt, set it alight, and extinguished it shortly thereafter.

Another had a similar story, adding that they "watched two guys poor gel on the tracks, then they lit it on fire. Police held back traffic and let it happen. Wild."

Given the parodic nature of the show — if it was indeed the one filming — commenters believe that creators Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol may have been creating a scene for some sort of Back to the Future spoof, potentially to be included in a rumoured movie that they've allegedly been filming around the city in recent weeks.

But, the Toronto Police Service told blogTO that though there was a shoot taking place, the fire was not set deliberately as part of that shoot, to the force's knowledge.

"I can tell you they were filming at that location. The fire was not part of filming and was quickly put out," a spokesperson said over email Friday morning.

Toronto Fire Services, meanwhile, said they were unaware of the situation and didn't respond to "any incident of this nature."