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Big BOOM early this morning.
- Thread starter iJohnHenry
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Good lord. That was terrible, yet awesome. It's like witnessing a car crash. REALLY cool until you see it in person, then it's sort of shocking and terrifying.
Whoa! That was an amazing explosion. I particularly like one video that shows it rather well, the shockwave was incredible... and the commentary and people screaming in the background gives a good sense of the atmosphere.
So does running like Hell, which is what the locals did.
Too bad that one Fire-fighter has died, probably exertion caused heart attack, and several people are missing.
The time of day was a stroke of luck, for sure.
Too bad that one Fire-fighter has died, probably exertion caused heart attack, and several people are missing.
The time of day was a stroke of luck, for sure.
Only one person still missing, the Dispatcher at the yard itself.
It is believed he was walking towards the sight of smoke when the first blast erupted.
I suspect the funeral will be closed-casket.
It is believed he was walking towards the sight of smoke when the first blast erupted.
I suspect the funeral will be closed-casket.
That is scary beyond all belief, does anybody know if there is any speculation as to what caused this blast? And thank God that the fire happened when it did, if that were the middle of the day then think of how many more people would have been there. Is the only confirmed death so far the fire-fighter, or have there since been more?
While I didn't hear the explosion, my sister-in-law's house is about 4kms (as the crow flies... basically Bathurst and Glencarin) from the depot. She said the big blast was strong enough to shake their house, and rattled the windows. The kids were a little shaken up 
but everybody is ok.
I used to live on Hawksdale Rd. which is probably around 750m from the blast site. I tried to call my old landlady (sweet little Italian woman), but couldn't get a hold of her (probably evacuated before I called). I'm sure she's ok, as there were very few injuries reported but I can't help worry a little. I'll try calling again tonight, she might need some help cleaning up a bit.
but everybody is ok.I used to live on Hawksdale Rd. which is probably around 750m from the blast site. I tried to call my old landlady (sweet little Italian woman), but couldn't get a hold of her (probably evacuated before I called). I'm sure she's ok, as there were very few injuries reported but I can't help worry a little. I'll try calling again tonight, she might need some help cleaning up a bit.
I had something very similar to that happen just a couple miles from my house about 5 years ago. It was a propane place in an industrial area just across the highway from a residential area. It blew sky-high and they closed the highway and evacuated some homes. Luckily nobody was killed. I think it was ruled accidental and the company rebuilt a bigger facility on the same spot, much to the dismay of the locals.
Wow.......this is making me really homesick.
Glad it wasn't a complete disaster, with hundreds dead. Think "glass is half-full".
Glad it wasn't a complete disaster, with hundreds dead. Think "glass is half-full".
Sad.
Good thing it was early.
Doesn't sound too good for him.
Unfortunately, this is true of many built up areas.
Airport goes into a rural area. Infrastructure is created. Homes begin encroaching on airport. Homeowners complain about airport as if there were their first. Not sure if this is the case here, but seen it plenty of times before. Which is why we see fuel depots so close to housing. Unfortunately. Especially at times like this.
Reminds me of that big 'un we had over here a couple of years back. UKs biggest explosion at an oil refinery or something. That thing was fecking HHUUUUGGGGEEEEE!!!!!
Its kind of scary if you think about it. The potential size of the explosions from facilities like this. You happily go about living near by and are never really conscious of the potential danger.
Its kind of scary if you think about it. The potential size of the explosions from facilities like this. You happily go about living near by and are never really conscious of the potential danger.
We have this in Cleveland - the homowners around the airport are literally strangling the city by fighting airport expansion - as a result we can't heavyweight or long-range jets. So selfish.
Well Downsview has a different kind of history I guess, it was a Canadian Forces Base for the longest time but was recently (~ 10 yrs ago) mothballed and different companies moved in. The airport (as in planes coming and going) is actually pretty quiet, but now has lots of industry around it. I really don't know how many people were aware of the propane depot there, on the west side of Murray St there was a lot of construction trucks, I biked around those streets all the time and never knew it existed.
