I guess I’m glad that I slept through it, because waking up and looking outside my window to see a massive fireball illuminate the sky would have been quite the head trip. Even as I watch the different videos on YouTube documenting the blast, I’m still shocked that something like this happened so close to home.
In the wee hours of the morning, just before 4am a serious of explosions happened near Keele St. and Wilson Ave. Residents in the immediate area recall feeling the shockwaves of the multiple blasts and having the windows of their home blowing out. There are some amazing photos that display the magnitude of the blast. Check out this Flickr photo stream. Here’s a detailed video showing some of the explosion:
As of this moment though, firefighters are close to completely extinguishing the burning tanks at the propane facility in the Keele and Wilson area, and I believe that the city is very lucky that this situation wasn’t more serious. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the area and blocks of the city (between the 401, Sheppard, Jane and Wilson) has been sectioned off.
Here’s the complete news story from TheStar.com, and I’m sure there are a lot of other media outlets carrying the news.
Update: One Toronto Firefighter has passed away battling the blaze. My condolences to his family and friends, and I commend all those firefighters who do such a dangerous job and risk their lives to save others.
