Editor's note: the Office of the Fire Marshal has since clarified that the cause of the explosion will be made public in a forthcoming report.
Investigators with the Ontario Fire Marshal's office have narrowed down the source of a gas leak that caused a Friday house explosion in the city’s south end, but the lead investigators says he will not be releasing that cause.
Lead investigator Dave Emberlin from the OFM said on Monday the natural gas leak that caused the explosion was the result of an action that occurred as a result of the gas meter being changed earlier in the day Friday.
“The natural gas leak is within the house and it is a result of an action that occurred changing the meter, but I am not going to get specific to say ‘this is what happened’ because I don’t think anyone needs to know that,” said Emberlin outside 32 Southcreek Trail late Monday morning.
Asked if the cause will be announced at a later date, Emberlin replied: “no. I will never come out and 100 per cent say the exact action that caused the explosion, other than the leak is in the house.”
“It is the result of an action that occurred during the change-out of the gas meter,” he repeated. “People will have to draw their own inferences from that, but I am not going to get specific to say ‘this is what happened.’”
“It’s not something that should have happened and it’s not something that should ever happen again.” said Emberlin. “It’s isolated to this house only. Nobody else on this street should have any concern whatsoever.”
The Ontario Fire Marshal took over control of the scene on Saturday. Parts of the house have since been hauled away to give investigators room to find the exact cause of the blast.
The house was destroyed by a blast that occurred shortly before 1:40 p.m. Friday.
Many of the neighbours were allowed to return to their homes at about 10:30 p.m. Friday after an evacuation order for the street was enforced for much of the afternoon and evening.
Enbridge Gas Inc. confirmed on Sunday it did work at the house on Southcreek Trail hours before it was levelled by an explosion on Friday, but a company spokesperson said the work was not related to the blast.
Emberlin said Technical Standards and Safety Association (TSSA) investigators will pressure test the gas distribution system within the house on Monday to rule out other possible causes other than the OFM’s current working theory of the chief cause of the leak.
Emberlin said there are five points of gas connections within the house.
“We know it’s A, but we have to rule out B, C, D and E to say there is no leakage here — it is only here.” said Emberlin.
The process will take a few hours, said Emberlin.
Following that, Emberlin said he will be taking one item from the scene to have an engineer look at to confirm with more certainty whether or not it was the cause.
The process of examining that object could take up to three weeks, depending on the work load of the engineer, said Emberlin.
