The north-west end of Toronto has literally been shut down since 4:00am this morning. A massive explosion and fire at the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gasses facility rocked the Keele & Wilson area where it is located. The explosion forced the evacuation of some 12,000 residents to Downsview air force base and York University. One firefighter is dead, an employee at the plant is unaccounted for and one resident suffered a broken ankle. There are no other reported casualties which is amazing considering that shrapnel from the blast is being found more than a kilometre away. I gather from news reports that there is still a risk of explosion from the remaining tanks so the surrounding area, including the 401 and part of the subway, remain closed.





There's a lot of outraged talk along the lines of how-could-they-allow-this-type-of-facility-in-a-residential-neighbourhood but really, I think it's fairly common. I live a couple of kilometres from the Imperial Oil plant on Southdown Road and residents of Pickering and Oshawa live in the shadow of the nuclear power plant.