Massive house explosion in Greater Toronto Area
NICK WESTOLL and MARYAM SHAH, Toronto Sun
First posted: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 08:19 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 08:43 AM EDT
MISSISSAUGA - One person was killed and nine others suffered minor injuries in an explosion that left a quiet Mississauga neighbourhood looking like a war zone on Tuesday afternoon.
Six homes were “extremely damaged” — including one that was reduced to rubble — by the blast on Hickory Dr., in the Dixie Rd.-Rathburn Rd. E area.
Emergency personnel were called to the scene around 4:20 p.m. and they quickly cordoned off the area which grew to include 700 residential units.
“We have one home completely destroyed and 24 others that are either moderately or extremely damaged. That’s what we’re working with right now,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who was at the scene.
“It was horrific, it was very horrific,” she said.
Crombie said a total of 58 homes had gas and water turned off, and 15 homes were evacuated.
Emergency personnel found a person a person without vital signs. They later confirmed that the person died.
Dozens of residents were evacuated from the central Mississauga neighbourhood. They were accommodated at Burnhamthorpe Community Centre on Gulleden Dr.
Social media was filled with images of plumes of dark smoke climbing into the sky. The cause of the explosion remained unknown.
Representatives from the utilities Enbridge and Enersource were among those at the scene.
Crombie told reporters no one was allowed access to the area because it was “still very unstable.”
Insisting it was too early to speculate on a cause, Mississauga Fire Chief Tim Beckett said crews had to contend with live wires and gas lines on the street.
“We have a large debris field in the area,” Beckett said. “We’ve totally lost one home, so you can just imagine.”
The Ontario fire marshal’s office was on scene, working with Peel police.
“From here on out, it’s going to be a slow and arduous process,” Beckett said.
Deputy chief Brian Gibson, of Peel Paramedics, said nine people were assessed at the scene with minor injuries and all were treated on-site.
Toronto Paramedic Services lent a hand to Peel’s emergency services, sending two support units and a superintendent to help out.
The blast was felt as far as one kilometre away.
Joe Silva was inside his home when he heard a loud sound.
“My house kind of shook and my windows rattled,” he said.
His background in aviation led him to assume that perhaps a fighter jet had flown overhead.
Then a friend called him with the bad news.
“I feel very thankful that it was not next door to me but also it was very sad where it was,” Silva said.
Massive house explosion in Greater Toronto Area | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto
Police and fire investigators probe deadly Mississauga blast
First posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 11:09 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 08:47 PM EDT
MISSISSAUGA - Police and fire investigators still don’t know what caused the deadly blast that killed a woman and devastated a quiet neighbourhood.
“There are a lot of projectiles and the debris field is quite extensive,” said Jeff Minten, spokesman for the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office. “I think it is fortunate that we don’t have more injuries.”
Minten said investigators are looking at gas line issues as a possible cause, but they aren’t ruling anything out.
The explosion razed one home and damaged many others.
“(Investigators) are establishing some search teams to conduct a perimeter search looking for items that might be of significance as far as whatever gas into the home that caused this explosion ... as we start from the outside working our way towards the unit that actually exploded,” Minten said.
Emergency crews found one woman without vital signs after arriving at the blast site on Hickory Dr., near Dixie Rd. and Rathburn Rd. E., around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Police were still trying to contact next of kin and haven’t released the woman’s identity.
Toronto Fire Services’ Heavy Urban Search and Rescue crews combed through the area and deemed the surrounding houses clear of any bodies.
Minten said four investigators, two engineers and two supervisor could be at the site until the weekend.
He said the lead investigator will use heavy equipment to sift through debris while remaining investigators will work with police and fire crews to sweep the perimeter area to gather evidence.
Fire Chief Tim Beckett said building engineers will assess the structural integrity of nearby homes.
For those homes deemed suitable for living, gas and hydro crews will work to restore connections.
Beckett said about 25 homes were impacted, adding some unstable dwellings may need to be demolished.
“We have identified a number of residents who are not going to be returning to their homes for some time. They are in a state of disrepair,” he added.
Mayor Bonnie Crombie said six people needed shelter Tuesday night and about 20 to 25 people were at the Burnhamthorpe Community Centre Wednesday.
She encouraged anyone displaced to register with the city’s 311 service.
Crombie said the Salvation Army is accepting new and gently used household items for residents who will need new places to live.
Meanwhile, at nearby Hickory Green Park, residents were out trying to see the devastation up close.
A man named Eugene, who lives close to St. Basil School, said he was in the kitchen with his wife at the time of the explosion.
“We felt the house shake,” he said. “It was more powerful; we felt like something happened very close.”
Peel Police announced late Wednesday they were shrinking the perimeter near Hickory Dr.
Officers encouraged residents in the neighbourhood to call police to check if they can return home.
*****
A series of notes and papers scattered in the neighbourhood where a woman’s body was found after a house explosion is raising new questions.
A plain clothes officer was seen leaving the scene Tuesday evening with a clear evidence bag containing various papers.
“Citizens reported seeing some pieces of paper with possible information that may lead us to the cause of this investigation. We’re still in the initial stages on that, but we are pursuing that,” Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans said during a Wednesday news conference.
A police source told the Sun “the materials are being analyzed and handwriting samples (are) being compared.”
Police haven’t disclosed the contents of the papers and said it is too early to determine if foul play was a factor.
Sgt. Josh Colley said during an afternoon news update there is nothing to connect the paperwork to the actual house since multiple homes were damaged.
“Anything that is found in the area we’re going to treat as serious as it will help the police (and fire) investigations,” he said.
Colley encouraged anyone who comes across any documentation to contact police right away.
Meanwhile, officers haven’t disclosed the identity of the woman since they said they haven’t been able to reach her next of kin.
Colley wouldn’t say where the body was found and couldn’t confirm if she lived at the house in question.
An autopsy of the woman has yet to be scheduled.
- With files from Joe Warmington
NWestoll@postmedia.com
One day after the Mississauga explosion investigators comb through the rubble to try and figure out a cause on Wednesday June 29, 2016. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network
Police and fire investigators probe deadly Mississauga blast | Toronto & GTA | N
No quick answers in explosion aftermath
By Joe Warmington, Toronto Sun
First posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 08:28 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 09:45 PM EDT
A dead woman in the backyard, many homes destroyed from a massive explosion and melancholy letters referencing “Jesus” and “God” discovered nearby.
That’s what we know about the Mississauga explosion. There’s lots we don’t know.
Nobody seems to be in a hurry to explain.
Just what the hell is going on here? The authorities seem as stumped about the strange explosion on Hickory Drive.
“Our job right now is to try to identify what the fuel was that caused the explosion and how it got in there,” said Ontario Fire Marshal spokesman Jeff Minten.
From the 17-th floor of the adjacent condo building, with photographer Craig Robertson I watched two fire marshal investigators wade into the debris — trying to make sense of what caused this devastation that blew a bathtub on top of the rubble next to a stove, while the refrigerator landed on the driveway.
“The blast was so huge it cracked my balcony door and left a crack in the wall by the elevator,” said Farhad Parsi.
What he looks out over has shaken him. He could see the deceased’s body, which he says was removed at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“It’s very upsetting,” he said.
He said he never saw anything unusual occur in the home from his view.
“It appeared to be an older couple who lived there with an adult child,” he said. “They seemed to grow tomatoes and maybe made some homemade wine.”
The blue drums strewn over the backyard he believes were for that wine but he’s not 100% sure. The drums are about the only thing that seem to be in one piece. Looking down on the yard looks like the leftover rubble of an air strike.
The images are shocking visuals but they are not the story. The story is what is behind all of this? There are far more questions than there are answers.
Who is the deceased woman? Does she have a husband or offspring and, if so, where are they? What caused the explosion that obliterated one house and badly damaged several others?
And were bizarre writings found near the explosion which neighbours tell reporters say such things as “I trust God to look after me and my husband to take us home” and “dear Jesus please forgive me” a hint into a state of mind or unrelated?
If it were a TV show it would be a great plot with many twists in it. But it’s a real-life death scene. A woman died and many others could have.
Peel Regional Police are investigating and “keeping an open mind” as they go “where the investigation” takes them.
“Anything that is found in the area we’re going to treat as serious as it will help the police (and fire) investigations,” Sgt, Josh Colley told reporters, including my Toronto Sun colleague Nick Westoll.
You can tell police, fire, the fire marshal and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie are wisely taking this investigation slow and careful as professionals sift through every aspect of debris thoroughly.
Smartly, they want to nail down the facts first.
“We’re not anywhere near the epicentre of this investigation,” warned Minten.
This mystery may not be solved in 60 minutes. However it turns out, in today’s fast world of Twitter and instant online answers to everything, it feels unusual there is not a quick answer here. In the fullness of time it will be sorted out.
In the meantime the letters are being probed and, sources say, efforts are being made to properly identify the deceased and notify family.
The next thing to watch for is the fire marshal’s determination of the source of the explosion and how it blew.
No one is saying foul play was behind it, but no one is saying it wasn’t. At this point, nobody seems sure about just what did happen here.
One day after the Mississauga explosion investigators comb through the rubble to try and figure out a cause on Wednesday June 29, 2016. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network
No quick answers in explosion aftermath | Warmington | Toronto & GTA | News | To
NICK WESTOLL and MARYAM SHAH, Toronto Sun
First posted: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 08:19 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 08:43 AM EDT
MISSISSAUGA - One person was killed and nine others suffered minor injuries in an explosion that left a quiet Mississauga neighbourhood looking like a war zone on Tuesday afternoon.
Six homes were “extremely damaged” — including one that was reduced to rubble — by the blast on Hickory Dr., in the Dixie Rd.-Rathburn Rd. E area.
Emergency personnel were called to the scene around 4:20 p.m. and they quickly cordoned off the area which grew to include 700 residential units.
“We have one home completely destroyed and 24 others that are either moderately or extremely damaged. That’s what we’re working with right now,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who was at the scene.
“It was horrific, it was very horrific,” she said.
Crombie said a total of 58 homes had gas and water turned off, and 15 homes were evacuated.
Emergency personnel found a person a person without vital signs. They later confirmed that the person died.
Dozens of residents were evacuated from the central Mississauga neighbourhood. They were accommodated at Burnhamthorpe Community Centre on Gulleden Dr.
Social media was filled with images of plumes of dark smoke climbing into the sky. The cause of the explosion remained unknown.
Representatives from the utilities Enbridge and Enersource were among those at the scene.
Crombie told reporters no one was allowed access to the area because it was “still very unstable.”
Insisting it was too early to speculate on a cause, Mississauga Fire Chief Tim Beckett said crews had to contend with live wires and gas lines on the street.
“We have a large debris field in the area,” Beckett said. “We’ve totally lost one home, so you can just imagine.”
The Ontario fire marshal’s office was on scene, working with Peel police.
“From here on out, it’s going to be a slow and arduous process,” Beckett said.
Deputy chief Brian Gibson, of Peel Paramedics, said nine people were assessed at the scene with minor injuries and all were treated on-site.
Toronto Paramedic Services lent a hand to Peel’s emergency services, sending two support units and a superintendent to help out.
The blast was felt as far as one kilometre away.
Joe Silva was inside his home when he heard a loud sound.
“My house kind of shook and my windows rattled,” he said.
His background in aviation led him to assume that perhaps a fighter jet had flown overhead.
Then a friend called him with the bad news.
“I feel very thankful that it was not next door to me but also it was very sad where it was,” Silva said.
Massive house explosion in Greater Toronto Area | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto
Police and fire investigators probe deadly Mississauga blast
First posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 11:09 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 08:47 PM EDT
MISSISSAUGA - Police and fire investigators still don’t know what caused the deadly blast that killed a woman and devastated a quiet neighbourhood.
“There are a lot of projectiles and the debris field is quite extensive,” said Jeff Minten, spokesman for the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office. “I think it is fortunate that we don’t have more injuries.”
Minten said investigators are looking at gas line issues as a possible cause, but they aren’t ruling anything out.
The explosion razed one home and damaged many others.
“(Investigators) are establishing some search teams to conduct a perimeter search looking for items that might be of significance as far as whatever gas into the home that caused this explosion ... as we start from the outside working our way towards the unit that actually exploded,” Minten said.
Emergency crews found one woman without vital signs after arriving at the blast site on Hickory Dr., near Dixie Rd. and Rathburn Rd. E., around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Police were still trying to contact next of kin and haven’t released the woman’s identity.
Toronto Fire Services’ Heavy Urban Search and Rescue crews combed through the area and deemed the surrounding houses clear of any bodies.
Minten said four investigators, two engineers and two supervisor could be at the site until the weekend.
He said the lead investigator will use heavy equipment to sift through debris while remaining investigators will work with police and fire crews to sweep the perimeter area to gather evidence.
Fire Chief Tim Beckett said building engineers will assess the structural integrity of nearby homes.
For those homes deemed suitable for living, gas and hydro crews will work to restore connections.
Beckett said about 25 homes were impacted, adding some unstable dwellings may need to be demolished.
“We have identified a number of residents who are not going to be returning to their homes for some time. They are in a state of disrepair,” he added.
Mayor Bonnie Crombie said six people needed shelter Tuesday night and about 20 to 25 people were at the Burnhamthorpe Community Centre Wednesday.
She encouraged anyone displaced to register with the city’s 311 service.
Crombie said the Salvation Army is accepting new and gently used household items for residents who will need new places to live.
Meanwhile, at nearby Hickory Green Park, residents were out trying to see the devastation up close.
A man named Eugene, who lives close to St. Basil School, said he was in the kitchen with his wife at the time of the explosion.
“We felt the house shake,” he said. “It was more powerful; we felt like something happened very close.”
Peel Police announced late Wednesday they were shrinking the perimeter near Hickory Dr.
Officers encouraged residents in the neighbourhood to call police to check if they can return home.
*****
A series of notes and papers scattered in the neighbourhood where a woman’s body was found after a house explosion is raising new questions.
A plain clothes officer was seen leaving the scene Tuesday evening with a clear evidence bag containing various papers.
“Citizens reported seeing some pieces of paper with possible information that may lead us to the cause of this investigation. We’re still in the initial stages on that, but we are pursuing that,” Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans said during a Wednesday news conference.
A police source told the Sun “the materials are being analyzed and handwriting samples (are) being compared.”
Police haven’t disclosed the contents of the papers and said it is too early to determine if foul play was a factor.
Sgt. Josh Colley said during an afternoon news update there is nothing to connect the paperwork to the actual house since multiple homes were damaged.
“Anything that is found in the area we’re going to treat as serious as it will help the police (and fire) investigations,” he said.
Colley encouraged anyone who comes across any documentation to contact police right away.
Meanwhile, officers haven’t disclosed the identity of the woman since they said they haven’t been able to reach her next of kin.
Colley wouldn’t say where the body was found and couldn’t confirm if she lived at the house in question.
An autopsy of the woman has yet to be scheduled.
- With files from Joe Warmington
NWestoll@postmedia.com
One day after the Mississauga explosion investigators comb through the rubble to try and figure out a cause on Wednesday June 29, 2016. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network
Police and fire investigators probe deadly Mississauga blast | Toronto & GTA | N
No quick answers in explosion aftermath
By Joe Warmington, Toronto Sun
First posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 08:28 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 09:45 PM EDT
A dead woman in the backyard, many homes destroyed from a massive explosion and melancholy letters referencing “Jesus” and “God” discovered nearby.
That’s what we know about the Mississauga explosion. There’s lots we don’t know.
Nobody seems to be in a hurry to explain.
Just what the hell is going on here? The authorities seem as stumped about the strange explosion on Hickory Drive.
“Our job right now is to try to identify what the fuel was that caused the explosion and how it got in there,” said Ontario Fire Marshal spokesman Jeff Minten.
From the 17-th floor of the adjacent condo building, with photographer Craig Robertson I watched two fire marshal investigators wade into the debris — trying to make sense of what caused this devastation that blew a bathtub on top of the rubble next to a stove, while the refrigerator landed on the driveway.
“The blast was so huge it cracked my balcony door and left a crack in the wall by the elevator,” said Farhad Parsi.
What he looks out over has shaken him. He could see the deceased’s body, which he says was removed at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“It’s very upsetting,” he said.
He said he never saw anything unusual occur in the home from his view.
“It appeared to be an older couple who lived there with an adult child,” he said. “They seemed to grow tomatoes and maybe made some homemade wine.”
The blue drums strewn over the backyard he believes were for that wine but he’s not 100% sure. The drums are about the only thing that seem to be in one piece. Looking down on the yard looks like the leftover rubble of an air strike.
The images are shocking visuals but they are not the story. The story is what is behind all of this? There are far more questions than there are answers.
Who is the deceased woman? Does she have a husband or offspring and, if so, where are they? What caused the explosion that obliterated one house and badly damaged several others?
And were bizarre writings found near the explosion which neighbours tell reporters say such things as “I trust God to look after me and my husband to take us home” and “dear Jesus please forgive me” a hint into a state of mind or unrelated?
If it were a TV show it would be a great plot with many twists in it. But it’s a real-life death scene. A woman died and many others could have.
Peel Regional Police are investigating and “keeping an open mind” as they go “where the investigation” takes them.
“Anything that is found in the area we’re going to treat as serious as it will help the police (and fire) investigations,” Sgt, Josh Colley told reporters, including my Toronto Sun colleague Nick Westoll.
You can tell police, fire, the fire marshal and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie are wisely taking this investigation slow and careful as professionals sift through every aspect of debris thoroughly.
Smartly, they want to nail down the facts first.
“We’re not anywhere near the epicentre of this investigation,” warned Minten.
This mystery may not be solved in 60 minutes. However it turns out, in today’s fast world of Twitter and instant online answers to everything, it feels unusual there is not a quick answer here. In the fullness of time it will be sorted out.
In the meantime the letters are being probed and, sources say, efforts are being made to properly identify the deceased and notify family.
The next thing to watch for is the fire marshal’s determination of the source of the explosion and how it blew.
No one is saying foul play was behind it, but no one is saying it wasn’t. At this point, nobody seems sure about just what did happen here.
One day after the Mississauga explosion investigators comb through the rubble to try and figure out a cause on Wednesday June 29, 2016. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network
No quick answers in explosion aftermath | Warmington | Toronto & GTA | News | To
