No update on missing person after second day of searching at scene of Scarborough home explosion

Fire crews have wrapped up a second day of searching for the body of a person missing after a house explosion in Scarborough.

“Obviously we've started to take the scene apart piece by piece with the use of some heavy equipment. But right now, crews will be shutting down for the night,” Deputy Fire Marshall John McBeth told reporters at the scene Monday evening, adding that there were no major updates.

“We'll be back first thing at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. With the assistance of Toronto police, we’ll hold the scene for the night. Toronto Fire and the OFM (Office of the Fire Marshal) will return to the scene tomorrow morning.”

Firefighters spent the day at the site of the explosion, a residence on Kitchener Road, near Kingston and Galloway roads, using heavy equipment to sort through the wreckage.

Crews were first called to the scene at around 11:40 a.m. on Sunday and arrived to find “a high level of damage consistent with what we generally see as a result of an explosion,” Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg told reporters.

Multiple emergency crews responded to the call.

Officials said they believe there was one occupant in the home at the time of the incident, however crews have not yet located them.

While no remains have been discovered, the fire service has brought in equipment for body removal as they believe that the person inside the home likely did not survive the blast, crews told CP24 on Monday.

The OFM is now on the scene and is investigating the cause and circumstances that led up to the explosion, but fire officials said a cause remains elusive after a second day of searching.

“Obviously, investigators are on scene starting to go through some of that information, but nothing to suggest right now that we can confirm,” McBeth said.

Mariano Perini, a spokesperson for the OFM, told reporters earlier Monday that crews were assessing the site to make sure it is safe to do their work.

"We will be getting into the building to start de-layering the debris and initiating our investigation to determine the cause of the fire," Perini said at the scene.

"We are going on the premise that there is someone inside and that will be part of the investigation and the excavation process."

McBeth said going through the wreckage in a respectful manner could take some time.

“The key thing for us is to do this investigation respectfully,” he said.

 

POLICE INVOLVED IN INTERACTION WITH MAN AT THE HOME LAST MONTH: SIU 

Three weeks ago, the province’s police watchdog became involved in an incident at 114 Kitchener Rd., the same address where the explosion occurred.

According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Toronto police officers responded to the home at around 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 23 to assist a bylaw officer with a man who was allegedly armed and aggressive.

“TPS officers became involved in an interaction with the 62-year-old man, and multiple officers deployed their conducted energy weapons,” the SIU confirmed in an email to CP24 on Monday.

The man, the SIU said, was apprehended and when he complained of pain, was taken to the hospital for treatment.

The SIU, which investigates any incident involving police and civilians that result in serious injury, death, or allegations of sexual assault, subsequently invoked its mandate.

Three SIU investigators have been assigned to this case.