SPI#1: Toronto’s blowing up!


 Posted on August 15th, 2022 –

On average, over 30 explosions are reported in Toronto every year.

That’s more than 2 explosions per month.

Still waiting for my stormy evenings but how’s that for an explosive exposé?

As explained in SPI#0, the number above is probably a little low but it might be too early to judge. In 2021, for example, I count 37 reports of type “EXPLOSION”. At the same time, despite data being unavailable for about 2 months of this year there are only 11 reports (average < 1 per month) and for the last quarter of 2020 there are 13 reports (average > 3 per month).

As you can see on the map above, there seem to be clusters of these reports but to me it’s not immediately obvious why.

For starters, the data doesn’t indicate what types of explosions are being reported. Are they gas leaks? Meth labs? Faulty car wiring? Fireworks?

There’s also no indication of how many explosions resulted in any damage or injury, although it might be possible to tease out some information from other sources.

Finally, just because someone reported an explosion doesn’t necessarily mean that there was one. But if even half of them are genuine, that’s a whole lot more ‘splodin going on around town than I’d guessed.

The events shown on the map are listed below but the addresses are reverse-geocoded, meaning that they’re approximations. Each address link opens up a Google Street View window at the exact location of the report.

  1. 2020-09-09, 4:55:25 p.m. – 89 Munro Street
  2. 2020-09-13, 8:27:42 a.m. – 320 St. Clair Avenue West
  3. 2020-09-27, 8:22:25 p.m. – 941 Progress Avenue
  4. 2020-10-07, 6:16:03 p.m. – 174 Grenview Boulevard South
  5. 2020-10-19, 10:23:56 p.m. – 510 Runnymede Road
  6. 2020-10-23, 7:59:20 p.m. – 87 Baby Point Road
  7. 2020-10-25, 5:04:10 p.m. – 1668 Kingston Road
  8. 2020-10-29, 9:28:05 p.m. – 20 Erinlea Crescent
  9. 2020-11-13, 3:05:28 a.m. – Yorkland Boulevard
  10. 2020-11-13, 3:05:28 a.m. – 30 Herons Hill Way
  11. 2020-11-22, 6:06:45 p.m. – 276 Steeles Avenue East
  12. 2020-11-27, 5:22:16 p.m. – 1152 Woodbine Avenue
  13. 2020-12-15, 10:23:39 a.m. – 5 Saugeen Crescent
  14. 2021-01-26, 7:42:24 p.m. – 2263 Lawrence Avenue East
  15. 2021-02-04, 9:24:19 p.m. – 139 Dundas Street East
  16. 2021-03-02, 6:59:14 p.m. – Washburn Way
  17. 2021-03-02, 8:34:09 p.m. – 2018 Davenport Road
  18. 2021-03-10, 11:54:45 p.m. – 36 Cormier Heights
  19. 2021-03-20, 1:47:23 a.m. – 405 Guildwood Parkway
  20. 2021-03-24, 3:41:55 a.m. – 2937 Lake Shore Boulevard West
  21. 2021-03-25, 11:51:23 a.m. – 989 Danforth Avenue
  22. 2021-04-01, 1:47:19 p.m. – 755 Queen Street West
  23. 2021-04-02, 5:35:08 p.m. – Taylor Creek Trail
  24. 2021-05-31, 4:35:12 p.m. – 55 St Georges Boulevard
  25. 2021-06-01, 3:37:13 p.m. – 2 Annette Street
  26. 2021-06-10, 12:53:09 p.m. – 19 Rosemount Drive
  27. 2021-06-11, 3:34:52 p.m. – 42 Overlea Boulevard
  28. 2021-06-21, 7:18:51 a.m. – 43 Fairholme Avenue
  29. 2021-06-24, 6:36:02 p.m. – 75 Byng Avenue
  30. 2021-06-29, 3:30:31 p.m. – 792 Arrow Road
  31. 2021-06-30, 7:35:49 p.m. – 65 Wanless Avenue
  32. 2021-07-04, 2:13:26 a.m. – 1500 Victoria Park Avenue
  33. 2021-08-04, 7:36:48 a.m. – 165 Shaughnessy Boulevard
  34. 2021-08-23, 8:07:32 a.m. – 190 Bingham Avenue
  35. 2021-08-28, 8:00:15 p.m. – Lake Shore Boulevard West
  36. 2021-08-31, 7:09:15 p.m. – 150 Sherbourne Street
  37. 2021-09-08, 9:55:09 a.m. – 223 Wicksteed Avenue
  38. 2021-09-08, 1:33:21 p.m. – 24 Coxwell Avenue
  39. 2021-09-10, 9:10:05 p.m. – 2334 Danforth Avenue
  40. 2021-09-14, 7:21:33 a.m. – 331 Spadina Road
  41. 2021-09-20, 10:01:20 p.m. – 731 Woodbine Avenue
  42. 2021-09-23, 2:25:19 p.m. – Terauley Lane
  43. 2021-10-09, 6:58:10 p.m. – 2645 Kipling Avenue
  44. 2021-10-11, 9:28:10 a.m. – 1990 Bloor Street West
  45. 2021-10-20, 8:39:06 a.m. – 65 Southport Street
  46. 2021-10-21, 2:56:16 p.m. – 92 Highcroft Road
  47. 2021-11-08, 8:48:02 a.m. – 172 King Street East
  48. 2021-11-11, 2:04:54 p.m. – 60 Byng Avenue
  49. 2021-11-21, 2:22:38 p.m. – 39 Venetian Crescent
  50. 2021-12-05, 9:23:04 p.m. – 100 Gamble Avenue
  51. 2021-12-11, 5:14:09 p.m. – Humber College Boulevard
  52. 2022-03-08, 9:31:28 p.m. – 1464 Midland Avenue
  53. 2022-04-28, 11:14:37 p.m. – Gerrard Street East
  54. 2022-04-29, 12:22:16 p.m. – 53 Hyde Avenue
  55. 2022-05-25, 6:02:02 p.m. – 65 Dundas Street East
  56. 2022-06-07, 8:13:08 a.m. – 32 Saddletree Drive
  57. 2022-06-21, 3:47:41 p.m. – 32 Haas Road
  58. 2022-06-21, 3:55:32 p.m. – 32 Haas Road
  59. 2022-07-16, 10:11:04 p.m. – 2013 Steeles Avenue West
  60. 2022-07-17, 11:08:21 p.m. – 130 Fundy Bay Boulevard
  61. 2022-07-19, 8:31:50 p.m. – 115 Gowan Avenue
  62. 2022-08-03, 8:51:36 p.m. – 326 Dundas Street East

What's on your mind?