Ontario Construction News staff writer
Seven construction workers were sent to hospital Tuesday morning following an explosion at a highrise construction site in Toronto’s North York area. Toronto Paramedic Services Chief Bikram Chawla said four people were transported to trauma centres in critical condition with life threatening injuries and three are being treated for minor injuries at local hospitals.
“On arrival there was no fire here but crews were met with multiple patients and initiated requests for EMS units to attend,” Toronto Fire Services Paul O’Brien told reporters at the scene. “We had patients exhibiting signs of burns but there was no fire on TFS arrival.”
Emergency crews were called to the site at 68 Esther Shiner Boulevard, near Leslie Street and Sheppard Avenue East, at about 9:15 a.m. for reports of a gas explosion, said Toronto Fire division commander Paul O’Brien. Several workers were found with burn injuries.
According to O’Brien, the incident happened in the boiler room on the 24th floor, the building’s penthouse level.
Officials say gas explosions are rare in Toronto, and the exact cause remains under investigation. The Ministry of Labour is investigating.
“We do not attend a lot of calls like this, of this serious nature, in construction sites,” O’Brien said. “We do attend and respond to all emergencies, but I cannot recall in the last couple of years something of this nature.”
No timeline has been provided for when workers will be allowed to return to the site.