posted on August 12, 2008

The Star: White cloud the first sign of danger

TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR
Firefighters work to put out a fire at Sunrise Propane in Toronto.
A series of explosions started at about 4 a.m., Aug. 10, 2008.

By: Michele Henry
Crime Reporter
Published: August 11, 2008
Source: The Star

The driver was nearly finished filling his 40,000-litre tanker at a 24-hour propane facility when a bulbous, white propane cloud floated toward him. So the man released his grip on the pump and ran.

The OPP were the first to call 911 about yesterday morning's explosions at Sunrise Propane on Murray Rd. in Downsview, but this man was the first to experience them first hand.

He smelled smoke and propane while on the Sunrise grounds and knew that the slowly advancing cloud had just been released from a tanker under pressure – one about to blow.

Probably just seconds after he fled the scene on foot, massive fireballs roared through the facility. He was making his way to North York General Hospital when he was picked up by a police officer on the road.

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