An occupant was likely inside a Toronto house when it exploded on Sunday, officials say, as crews remain at the scene of the blast.
Mariano Perini, operations manager of major incidents at the Office of the Fire Marshal, provided an update Monday morning on the situation.
He said crews from the Office of the Fire Marshal, Toronto Fire Services, Toronto police and Enbridge were all at the scene.
Officials were working to determine whether or not there is a displacement of the natural gas distribution system, he said.
“That’s essentially to make sure the scene is safe,” he said.
“A little bit later this morning what we’ll be doing is utilizing heavy equipment. We’ll be getting into the building to start delayering the debris and initiating our investigation to determine the cause of the fire.”
The incident took place Sunday morning at a home on Kitchener Road in Scarborough, near Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue East.
Perini said it’s believed a person was inside at the time of the blast and subsequent fire.
“We’re going on the premise that there is somebody inside and that will be part of the investigation and the excavation process,” he said.
Perini said there are “a number of things” that could have caused the blast.
“Once we identify the fuel load, then we’ll be able to determine the flammable limits and explosive limits and that will help us determine what the cause was and what the fuel source was,” he said.