MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – A year after a Mississauga, Ont., house explosion that was ruled a double suicide, officials say the residents of 25 neighbouring properties remain out of their homes.
The June 28, 2016, explosion killed Robert Nadler and Dianne Page, both 55, and left 69 homes uninhabitable due to severe damage after debris rained down on the neighbourhood.
Mississauga fire Chief Tim Beckett told a news conference on Tuesday that 800 homes were affected on the night of the blast due to damage, evacuations or residents not being allowed into the area.
Beckett says 25 of the 69 heavily damaged residences remain unoccupied and in various stages of reconstruction.
Investigators say natural gas lines to a water heater had been disconnected, causing gas to build up in the home at the centre of the blast prior to the “intentional” explosion.
Police were unable to determine what ignited the gas, but have said Nadler and Page were alive at the time of the explosion and died of blunt force trauma consistent with the blast.