Crews find body in rubble at site of house explosion in Scarborough

Crews sifting through the debris at the site of a house explosion in Scarborough have now located human remains in the rubble, officials confirm.

The body was discovered two days after the initial explosion and fire on Sunday that levelled the home at 114 Kitchener Road, located near Kingston and Galloway roads.

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said work is being done to determine the identity of the individual but confirmed that the occupant of the home remains unaccounted for.

“The coroner has yet to arrive so there will be significant investigative work that happens under the authority of the Coroner’s Act to confirm the identify of the remains that have been located today,” Pegg said.

Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg told reporters Tuesday that the investigation into what caused the deadly incident is ongoing.

“Certainly my condolences and thoughts go out to the family and friends of those impacted and all of the residents around the scene. I know it has been very trying on everyone,” Jon Pegg said.

“It will be a very long and detailed investigation. It will involve forensic testing and modelling… We will piece it all together and come back with a cause once we have it and hopefully an origin.”

He added that the investigation is in its early stages and crews will be on scene for the rest of the week, possibly into next week. He said he could not yet speculate on the cause of the fire.

“(It is) too early to rule anything out. We were boreholing yesterday to make sure there was no trapped gas under the ground. That came back negative,” he said.

“The fact that two houses on either side are still standing will form definitely part of that modelling and will help investigators lean toward a cause.”

When asked if criminal activity could be involved, Jon Pegg said “everything is open.”

“If criminal activity is involved, we would contact Toronto police,” he said.