2008 Toronto propane blast
The explosions seen from midtown Toronto, Ontario.
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| Date | August 10, 2008 |
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| Time | 03:50 ET |
| Location | 54 Murray Road North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Deaths | 2 |
Coordinates: 43°43′57″N 79°28′22″W / 43.73250°N 79.47278°W
The Toronto propane explosion (also known as the Sunrise Propane incident) was a series of explosions and ensuing fire that took place on the morning of August 10, 2008, in Downsview, North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The explosions occurred at the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases propane facility, located near Keele Street and Wilson Avenue around 03:50 ET. The blasts caused thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes and cost C$1.8 million to clean up, half of which was paid by the province of Ontario. An employee of Sunrise died in the initial explosions and a firefighter died of cardiac arrest the next day while at the scene.
Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases was a company that sold propane for commercial and home purposes, in addition to other gases like helium and acetylene. The company has operated under a number of names since at least 1999. In 2002, a company named Sunrise Petroleum was successfully sued by First Choice Petroleum Inc., an oil and lubricants supplier, that claimed the company owed them C$54,063.73 in products and that Sunrise forged a document to avoid settling their account. In that case, it was found that Sunrise had forged the signature of a First Choice employee named Thomas Tims in a 1999 document, which stated Sunrise Petroleum would be taken over by a new company called Sunrise Petroleum Lubricants, and that Sunrise Petroleum would thereby not be responsible for any outstanding, unpaid, or unsettled accounts. However, Tims would not have signed the document because he was listed on it as "Tim Toms", rather than Tom Tims. As a result of the case, Sunrise was forced to pay the account owed plus interest, totalling C$93,389.54, and an additional C$34,284.71 in legal fees. Court documents also revealed a third name, Sunrise Propane & Petroleum, that the company had previously used.
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