No injuries were reported after a steam explosion, the result of a compromised steam line underneath a York Street sidewalk, prompted building evacuations and road closures in London’s downtown core on Friday.
Emergency crews arrived at the intersection of York and Clarence streets around 2 p.m. and were met with the sight of a large plume of steam emerging from the ground.
Speaking with reporters about a block away from the scene, Platoon Chief Colin Shewell said the initial report came in of a “steam explosion… with a large crater.”
“We evacuated the area, and the reason for that is the utilities that run parallel with the steam line,” Shewell said.
“For example, the gasoline or hydro could have been compromised. So as a precaution, we evacuated a block area between Richmond and Wellington Street on York.”
Among the buildings evacuated were Citi Plaza and the Central branch of the London Public Library. In a tweet shortly before 4:30 p.m., fire officials announced that all crews had cleared and that the evacuation had been cancelled.
Police also closed the intersections of Wellington and York streets, as well as Dundas and Clarence streets. The intersection of Horton and Wellington streets, located just south of the CN Rail tracks, was also closed to pedestrian traffic for reasons that weren’t immediately stated.
By 4:30 p.m., the only closure still in place involved the westbound lanes of York Street between Wellington and Richmond streets, fire officials said.
What caused the steam explosion is unclear.
The steam line is owned and operated by London District Energy, whose plant is located at Colborne and Bathurst streets. The firm operates roughly 10 kilometres of steam pipes and three kilometres of chilled water pipes servicing at least 60 customers, among them St. Joseph’s Hospital, according to its website.
An official with London District Energy declined to comment to 980 CFPL. London District Energy’s owner, Enwave, was also reached for comment, but no response was provided by publishing time.
The steam line involved has previously been used to heat and service the VIA Rail station, but has “been capped since the construction has begun, so it actually wasn’t going anywhere,” Shewell said.
“I don’t know the damage because it’s under the surface. That’ll be up to the company, as well as maybe third party engineers, to determine what the amount of any type of damage would be.”
— with files from Andrew Graham
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