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