2008 Toronto explosions

The 2008 Toronto explosions, were a series of explosions and ensuing fires, together an industrial disaster, on the morning of August 10, 2008 in the Downsview community of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/475696 |title=Firefighter dies, thousands flee propane plant blasts |accessdate=2008-08-11 |author=Freeman, Sunny |coauthors=Taylor, Bill |publisher=Toronto Star |date=2008-08-10 ] The explosions, at the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases propane facility in the Keele Street and Wilson Avenue area of north-west Toronto, began just before 4 a.m. ET starting with a thunderous explosion. [cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV5udSWJcZo |title=Toronto propane depot explosion |format=Video |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=2008-08-11] The blasts caused thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes.cite web |url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080810.wexplosions0810/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080810.wexplosions0810 |title=Following massive blaze, Torontonians given all-clear |accessdate=2008-08-11 |date=2008-08-10 |author=Wingrove, Josh |coauthors=Tu Thanh Ha; Trevisan, Matthew |publisher=Globe and Mail, Canadian Press] Two deaths have been reported in connection to the explosions.cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/08/10/propane-fire.html |title=Firefighter dies battling huge fire at propane depot |date=2008-08-10 |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher=CBC.ca] cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/09/03/propane-witness.html?ref=rss |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-09-03 |accessdate=2008-09-03 |title=Illegal propane transfer completed before Sunrise blast: driver]

Incident

Just after 3:50 a.m. ET, a large explosion occurred at the Sunrise propane facility, located near Murray Road and Spalding Road. This was followed by a series of explosions which sent huge fireballs and clouds of smoke billowing into the sky, and a boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion ( [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pan1t4WdYbc video] ). Large pieces of metal believed to be from the exploding propane tanks were flung into nearby streets. Many homes and offices were damaged, windows were shattered, and doors were ripped from their hinges. About 200 firefighters battled the fires that resulted from the explosions.

The threat of further blasts and concerns about the air quality forced the police to order the evacuation of a large area in the surrounding community. Buses were brought in to evacuate residents. Residents living within a 1.6 kilometre radius were forced out of their homes. [cite web |url=http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_25625.aspx |title=Firefighter Found Without Vital Signs Succumbs Following Massive Blast |work=CityNews |publisher=Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. |accessdate=2008-08-11 |date=2008-08-10]

The explosions rocked the area and also caused the closure of part of Highway 401, between highways 404 and 400 for over 12 hours.cite episode |title=CTV News |network=CTV |station=CTV Toronto |airdate=2008-08-10]

Emergency crews feared another major explosion as two propane tankers on rail cars continued to burn more than five hours after the initial explosion. [cite web |url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9007904.html |title=Thousands evacuated in Toronto after explosions at propane facility |publisher=The Chronicle Herald |date=2008-08-10 |accessdate=2008-08-11] Regular commercial air traffic was allowed to continue in and out of Pearson International Airport while smaller, privately owned aircraft were restricted from flying over the area.

During the course of the emergency response to the scene, a Toronto firefighter was found lifeless by a fellow firefighter. Paramedics and firefighters unsuccessfully tried to revive him and he was then rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The firefighter was identified as Bob Leek, a 55 year old district chief of emergency planning and a 25-year veteran. Six people were sent to hospital, 18 people admitted themselves to an emergency clinic, and Emergency Medical Services responded to 40 people on the site. [cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080811/to_explo_080812/20080812?hub=TopStories |publisher=CTV |date=2008-08-12 |accessdate=2008-08-12 |title=Coroner investigates after body found at blast site] Parminda Saini, a Sunrise employee and student from Chandigarh, India, who was enrolled in Sheridan College, was unaccounted for. [cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080810/to_explo_080810?s_name=&no_ads= |title=Thousands returning home after massive T.O. fire |publisher=CTV |date=2008-08-10 |accessdate=2008-08-11] [cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/14/saini-propane.html |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-14 |accessdate=2008-08-14 |title=Employee missing from propane plant is student from India]

Possible causes

While the investigation is still underway, some possible causes have been suggested. On August 21, Ontario's independent safety regulator for fuels, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, released a statement saying that just before the explosion, a truck driver was illegally transferring propane from one truck to another, which is prohibited in Ontario because it increases the risk of a gas leak or fire. The agency also reported that in November 2006, Sunrise Propane was warned about its lack of safety by not stopping the truck-to-truck transfers at the company's facilities. [cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/22/propane-cause.html?ref=rss |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-22 |accessdate=2008-08-22 |title=Illegal propane transfer occurred right before Toronto blast: regulator]

Aftermath

To provide shelter for displaced evacuees, residents were transferred to nearby York University, north of the scene of the explosion. Due to the proximity of the site to major highways, the Highway 401 was shut down from the Highway 404 to the Highway 400, and the local Yorkdale Mall was shut down. Toronto Transit Commission routes and the York Region Transit Viva Orange route were affected due to their proximity in the evacuation zone. Most of the routes were diverted, but some, like Downsview Station to Lawrence West Station of the Yonge-University-Spadina line, were shut down. GO Transit services to Yorkdale Bus Terminal were also cancelled. [cite web |url=http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080810/080810_explosion_closures/20080810/?hub=CP24Home |title=List of closures as a result of the explosions |work=CP24.com |publisher=CTVglobemedia |accessdate=2008-08-11 |date=2008-08-10]

About 15 hours after the first explosions, residents were given the go-ahead to return to their homes. However, many people returning to their homes were stopped at police checkpoints and turned back, or not permitted to take their vehicles past the checkpoints. About 100 homes were left uninhabitable, [cite web |url=http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080810/to_explo_080811/20080811/?hub=TorontoNewHome |title=100 homes uninhabitable after blast: T.O. police |work=CTV News |publisher=CTVglobemedia |accessdate=2008-08-11 |date=2008-08-11] while some 12,000 were evacuated.cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/11/tto-fire.html |title=Almost all Toronto residents back home after propane blast |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-11 |accessdate=2008-08-11] On August 11, almost all residents who had to be evacuated were allowed back, though about 20 families still have to wait, while tests by health officials over concerns about airborne asbestos are currently being conducted.

Due to the explosion, Toronto officials plan on reviewing all industrial areas that could potentially pose a threat to residential neighbourhoods to prevent similar evacuations. Propane experts and the Ontario Fire Marshal are reviewing past inspections of the facility to determine the cause of the explosions. [cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/11/propane-fire.html |title=Toronto to review zoning bylaws after propane explosion, fire |date=2008-08-11 |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher=CBC.ca]

The exterior of one of Bombardier's airplane plants was seriously damaged due to the explosions and had to cancel early shifts on August 11 to assess and clean up the damage. [cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/11/bombardier-explosion.html |title=Bombardier assessing damage at Toronto plant after propane blasts |date=2008-08-11 |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher=CBC.ca]

The explosion caused damage to one of Toronto's oldest Jewish cemeteries, Mount Sinai Memorial Park. The cemetery is over 100 years old and has more than 11,000 graves, of which at least 20 were damaged by the explosion. [Cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/11/mount-sinai.html |title=Historic Jewish cemetery closed by propane accident |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-11 |accessdate=2008-08-11]

Various residents are angry over the municipal government allowing Sunrise to build a propane facility in a residential area. Some residents claim that the community were not consulted or notified about the facility when it was being built around five years ago. However, Shelley Carroll, Toronto's acting deputy mayor, suggested that the facility has been around before many of the homes were built. [cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/08/10/explosion-residents.html |title=Residents say propane facility had no place near houses |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-10 |accessdate=2008-08-11]

During the evening of August 11, authorities discovered a body at the depot. It has not yet been confirmed if it is Parminder Saini's body.cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/12/propane-fire.html |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-12 |accessdate=2008-08-12 |title=Body found at site of Toronto propane fire] The coroner's office has since said it will take weeks to identify the remains of the body found as they have to restort to DNA testing which takes longer than the normal methods of identification. [Cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/19/sunrise-propane.html |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-19 |accessdate=2008-08-19 |title=Propane plant wanted to expand]

Asbestos was thrown around the area during the explosion, causing serious safety concerns for residents in the Downsview area. This resulted in an backlash by residents worried that authorities were downplaying the asbestos issue. [Cite web |url=http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080813/city_outrage_080813/20080813/?hub=CP24Home |title=Constituents confront councillor with asbestos fears |publisher=CityNews |date=2008-08-13 |accessdate=2008-08-13]

The Technical Standards and Safety Authority, the agency that regulates fuel safety in Ontario, originally said that it had only inspected Sunrise once since it opened in 2005. They later contradicted this by stating that they had issued cease and desist orders in 2006 and 2007 due to safety violations. [Cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/14/tssa-propane.html |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-14 |accessdate=2008-08-14 |title=Propane plant cited for violations in 2006 and 2007]

On August 19, nine days after the explosions, Sunrise issued a short news release, saying the company regrets the loss of life and that they are co-operating with authorities in the investigations. The news release also said that they will not be making any more public comments in the near future to prevent speculation and misinformation. [Cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/19/propane-sunrise.html |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-19 |accessdate=2008-08-19 |title=Propane company urges public not to rush to judgment]

An investigator with Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal has said that it could take months before the cause of the explosions can be determined.cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/18/fmo-propane.html |date=2008-08-18 |accessdate=2008-08-19 |publisher=CBC.ca |title=Determining cause of propane blast could take months] Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also said that the province is willing to provide financial aid to residents whose homes were damaged by the explosions.

Six other propane facilities in the province have been shut down as part of an audit prompted by the explosions. Facilities in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cornwall, Ottawa, and two in Toronto have been ordered to shut down after failing to show that their employees are properly trained at the facilities. [Cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080822/propane_folo_080822/20080822?hub=Canada |publisher=CTV |date=2008-08-22 |accessdate=2008-08-22 |title=Investigators find possible cause of propane blast]

Parminder Saini's father was granted a visa to travel from Punjab to Canada to aid in the investigation, though Parminder's brother and mother were denied by the Canadian Consulate. This was later corrected after the Department of Citizenship and Immigration was informed of the problem. [cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/08/27/saini-propane.html |publisher=CBC.ca |date=2008-08-27 |accessdate=2008-08-27 |title=Family of missing Sunrise Propane employee given visas]

The unidentified body found at the site was confirmed to be Parminder Saini's body on September 3. Felipe De Leon, an employee at Sunrise, stated that he had completed an illegal propane transfer when he noticed smoke at the north end of the facility. De Leon said he then went inside the facility's office to warn Parminder to flee the building, though he refused. De Leon then fled from the facility while Parminder walked towards the smoke.

References