Explosions In Toronto

[augurus]

Synopsis:

Propane gas facility explodes multiple times at around 4am EST, Sunday morning in Toronto. Officials are evacuating local residents, several of which received injuries. Officials have also closed the 401, North America's busiest freeway, in that section of the city, North York. The Toronto Transit Commission has already closed several subway stations in that area and have assisted the evacuation by offering shuttles to transport the residents to shelters. Videos embedded at the end of post.

 

Firefighter dies at scene of explosions at Toronto propane facility, thousands forced to flee.

Zosia Bielski and Becky Rynor , Canwest News Service

Published: Sunday, August 10, 2008

 

TORONTO - A 25-year veteran Toronto firefighter has died after fighting blazes that followed a series of massive explosions Sunday at a propane storage facility that forced the evacuation of some 12,000 residents in a suburban neighbourhood.

 

It was not immediately clear whether the death was related to the explosions or from a medical condition. Toronto fire officials say one of the firefighter's colleagues found the firefighter had collapsed on the ground and called for help.

 

"It was in traumatic circumstances, " said David Sheen, division chief.

 

"It's hard. All of our guys are having a rought time of it," said an emotional Sheen, who said the firefighter's name will not been relased until his family is notified.

 

Firefighters, police and emergency rescue workers have been on the scene of the propane facility since a still undetermined number of explosions rocked the area surrounding Keele and Wilson Aves.

 

Thousands of people evacuated from their suburban Toronto neighbourhood are re-living the horror of being awakened by the blasts. One large shopping mall nearby was also evacuated.

 

"Our windows blew. Everything blew out. Doors were blown open. Our door handles actually came off. Light fixtures had fallen. We had glass all over our staircase," resident Vicki Arciero said. "It was like a nuclear explosion."

 

She said her family took shelter in their basement, just three doors away from Sunrise Propane facility, until emergency services workers came to help them evacuate the area.

 

"I thought it was an earthquake with the noise and the way my building shook," said freelance photographer Sarah Millar.

 

Stefano Valente was working his night shift at a grocery store when the blast occurred.

 

"The store started shaking like crazy," he said. "Windows were flopping in and out like they were rubber. Stuff was falling from the ceiling like snow. Things were falling from the shelves, a couple of us fell. It was the most intense thing I've ever experienced."

 

Valente ran from the store and saw a big mushroom cloud that "reeked," he said.

 

Division Commander Bob O'Hallarn of Toronto Fire Services said damage to homes and businesses in the area is still being assessed.

 

"I saw homes with very heavy damage, but I would not classify it as completely destroyed. I've seen (homes) from explosions before where it's nothing but a pile of rubble. I didn't see any of that here," he said.

 

"There's five homes that I saw that have damage, but there's more than that. I saw five, but it was dark when I was down there and I didn't see the entire area."

 

Well into Sunday, firefighters were still working to contain a number of "spot fires" at the facility.

 

"It was a very difficult fire to fight because of the heat and the amount of fire was spread over a very large area," O'Hallarn told a news conference a few hours after the explosions.

 

"When the initial explosion went off, or one of the explosions went off, it obviously spread fire all over the general area," he said.

 

By mid-morning, he said that situation had improved.

 

"We had an unknown number of tanks, I had various reports of two or four tanks that had flames impinging on them, that were venting and burning," he said. "We have that down to one large . . . tanker of (liquified petroleum gas) and one of them that was burning and venting is no longer venting, or venting only sporadically now."

 

 

O'Hallarn said police have spoken to a driver who was in the facility early Sunday morning.

 

"He was filling up his truck and he saw some either smoke or some type of gas and went to report that and left the area. As he was leaving the area there was an explosion."

 

O'Hallarn said by mid-morning another smaller, tanker trailer still had flames emerging from beneath it, which he said may have been the tires burning.

 

"It's not venting at all and it may very well be empty as well. So the situation is better than before," he said, although he said there are still a number of "spot fires" that need to be extinguished and a number of other propane tankers "all over the yard of different sizes."

 

Arciero said just two days ago her daughter had voiced concerns to her mother about living so close to the plant and that they should move. They have lived in the area for 16 years. She said the plant came in four years ago.

 

"That shouldn't be there," Arciero said.

 

A section of Highway 401 south of the explosion remained closed Sunday afternoon and aircraft are not allowed to fly near the area.

 

"Highway 401 remains closed across the top of the city. There is 16 kilometres of 401 closed, from Highway 400 over to Highway 404 and that's really the main part of Toronto. It's the busiest part of the 401 which is the busiest highway in North America," said Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Sgt. Cam Woolley. "Traffic is being re-routed, but the alternate routes are quite busy. But it's going quite well considering the size of the closure."

 

Woolley said this is the biggest closure of the 401 in the highway's history.

 

Subway service in the area surrounding the explosion has also been shut down.

 

Subway stations at Downsview, Wilson and Yorkdale are closed until further notice, while subways on the Yonge-University-Spadina line are turning back at Lawrence West station.

 

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) says several bus routes in the area of the explosion are also being diverted. The TTC continues to run a shuttle service for residents being evacuated from the site.

 

Elaine Smyer, the manager of emergency planning for the city of Toronto said as many as 12,000 residents could be affected by the evacuation. Speaking from York University where a shelter has been set up for evacuees, Smyer could not say how long the evacuation was expected to last.

 

"They can stay with us until we can determine whether they can return home or if they need to find other places of accommodation."

 

She also asked people with friends and family near the scene of the blast to not travel to York in hopes of connecting with those people.

 

"We're trying to get to all the residents in the area, trying to get them out," said Toronto police Sgt. Dan Martin.

 

A still undetermined number of explosions erupted from the Sunrise Propane facility in North York at about 4 a.m.

 

Police said the company stores and distributes a number of highly flammable welding supplies and such gases as acetylene, argon, nitrogen, propane and oxygen which police say is "highly explosive." The cause of the explosion has not been determined.

 

He said he has "no idea" what's in the tankers, but said "it's probably propane, because it's a propane facility. But who knows? It could be methane, it could be anything."

 

Sgt. Peter Laufer said the owner of the company told police there are eight employees who have not been accounted for.

 

"But they may have been away for the weekend. They probably wouldn't have been there at that hour, anyway."

 

"There's a possibility there were people in the building, but nothing is confirmed," Martin said. "We won't know until the situation has calmed down. Until the fire is out we won't be able to get in there to investigate."

 

O'Hallarn said one other resident of the area remains unaccounted for. Emergency Services spokesman Peter MacIntyre said one person was taken to hospital with a minor ankle injury received while evacuating his home.

 

"We've treated some minor injuries at the scene," he said. "Other than this one individual, we have not transported anyone else. It's people we have treated for minor cuts and bruises. We have notified all the area hospitals so they are on standby. They are aware that they could be having an influx of patients and many people will choose to go to the hospital on their own."

 

Huge billows of dark smoke could be seen from the area of the blast. Several images of the explosions, and videos of the fireballs going off were posted online soon after they occurred.

 

The City of Toronto has set up a hotline for those trying to contact evacuees - 416-736-5185.

via canada.com

 

 

Update: This is the new video.

[TCP]

How frightening. Hope all my eastern brothers/sisters on Via Chicago are all right.

[solace]

jesus... that one huge explosion makes it look like a sunrise/daytime... unreal

[deepseacatfish]

Yikes, hope those in Toronto are safe.

[Katie3]

I live a couple hours away from Toronto, and actually around noon on SUnday I was on the 401 and we had to take the Don Valley Parkway instead through Toronto, which loops up over the 401. It was really eerie seeing such a busy highway without a single car on it.

[wheelco]

Wow - I was just with the family in Toronto less than a week ago, so I actually know exactly where this is. Nothing like a little personal perspective to open your eyes to a news story you would have previously glossed over . . .