Tuesday, April 21, 2015

MASSIVE EXPLOSION KILLS 1, FLATTENS A TWO-STORY TORONTO HOUSE AND DAMAGES AT LEAST 12 OTHERS













APRIL 20, 2015

The man killed in an explosion that flattened a two-story Toronto house and showered the neighborhood with debris was known to police and had faced criminal charges in the past.

The explosion happened at 3356 Brimley Rd. in the east-end community of Scarborough, shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

One man, who was a resident of the home, was found dead under the rubble. He was later identified as 57-year-old Paul Zigomanis. A post-mortem examination was scheduled to take place Tuesday morning.

Zigomanis was listed in a Toronto police wanted list for assault and death threats in November 2013. In a post on Facebook, police said he was wanted on two counts of assault causing bodily harm, and one count of uttering death threats. At the time, police wrote it was alleged that he had known the victims for several years and the assault was over a monetary dispute.

Police said they weren't sure whether the explosion was caused by some type of criminal act.

"There's no indication that this is any sort of drug or meth lab at this stage of the game," Toronto Police Insp. David Vickers said Monday evening.
"We're going to be going through the scene with Toronto Fire and with our forensic identification bureau to see if there's any indication to that effect… We're treating this as a crime scene."

Speaking from the scene on Tuesday, an investigator with the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal said his investigators are working with forensic and canine officers, firefighters, and structural engineers to determine the cause of the fire.

"We're slowly, methodically trying to develop an investigational plan," Wayne Romaine told reporters.

The two-story home was completely destroyed, and at least 12 other houses were damaged in the blast. A firefighter who responded to the scene said it resembled a "war zone," with pieces of wood, drywall and insulation scattered for hundreds of metres.

Due to the amount of debris, Romaine said investigators still aren't sure whether anyone else is buried in the rubble. He said a fourth police dog was brought in to help in the search Tuesday morning.

"The debris field is massive," he said.

Toronto Fire Services said there was a natural gas leak in the area for several hours following the explosion. Firefighters said 17 nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution while crews worked to shut off the leak.

On Tuesday morning, a representative of Enbridge Gas said the leak had been stopped overnight.

Officials have still not said whether the gas leak caused the explosion, or happened as a result of the explosion.

Romaine said the lack of fire damage on most of the debris in the area indicates that whatever fueled the explosion was spent in the blast, burning so quickly that the flames didn't reach most of the home.

Anyone with information about the explosion is being asked to contact the officers at Toronto Police's 42 Division at 416-808-4202.
Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca