Body found at site of Toronto propane fire
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | 6:05 AM ET
CBC News
Firefighters attend the scene of a series of explosions Sunday at a propane depot in Toronto. (Angela Deluce/Canadian Press)Authorities discovered a body late Monday at a Toronto propane depot where a series of massive explosions occurred over the weekend, but have not confirmed whether it is that of a missing employee.
The body was found around 7 p.m. ET at Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases in the city's northwest end, Toronto police said in a release.
The massive blasts at the facility early Sunday resulted in the death of a veteran firefighter and prompted about 10,000 residents to flee their nearby homes as plumes of smoke and billowing flames filled the sky above the city.
Bob Leek, 55, Toronto Fire Services district chief of emergency planning, was found unresponsive at the scene and was pronounced dead at hospital, authorities said. It is unclear how Leek died and the cause of death has still to be determined.
The blasts sprayed debris over a wide radius, damaging several homes and businesses, and forced the closure of a 16-kilometre stretch of Highway 401, Canada's busiest roadway.
A large neighbourhood — bounded by Keele Street, Dufferin Street, Sheppard Avenue and Wilson Avenue — was evacuated, although most residents had returned to their homes by Monday.
A post-mortem examination of the body found Monday is to be scheduled, the police release said.
Too close to residential area?
The incident has prompted heated debate over whether such a facility should be allowed to be built so close to residential areas.
The propane depot was regulated and authorized by a provincial agency and complied with existing zoning bylaws, but Mayor David Miller has ordered a review of the city's policies.
The mayor insisted the city's hands were tied because of the bylaws, saying it was the responsibility of the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, the provincial regulator, to determine whether such a facility should operate in the neighbourhood.
But a spokesman for TSSA was quoted as saying in Tuesday's edition of the Globe and Mail that the city was informed when the facility applied for a licence three years ago.
