6 homes still being rebuilt 2 years after deadly Mississauga blast

 

Six homes are still under construction two years after a deadly natural gas explosion ripped apart a Mississauga neighbourhood, killing two people and displacing dozens of families.

Police said it was a double suicide, but the impact of the Hickory Drive blast was far-reaching, either damaging or destroying the homes of 800 residents.

Bozenie Wolanin, who lives two doors down from the source, was forced to move out for 11 months. Now that she’s finally home, she said she doesn’t feel entirely safe.

“Even when we moved back, one of the floors was dipping,” she said. “So we have to move the furniture again and redo the level after we already moved back.”

She says her insurance company is dragging its heels and refusing to give her a proper timeline.

“To me, they treat us like you should be happy we want to fix anything,” she said. “Two years, and we’re not even close.”

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said the magnitude of the recovery is part of the problem.

“Given the fact that there were approximately 800 residents initially impacted by the explosion, and dozens upon dozens who were out for weeks at a time, and the number of homes that were damaged and townhomes, it’s probably in the millions of dollars, the final bills,” said the IBC’s Pete Karageorgos.

He noted it’s a situation rarely seen in Canada.

“We do know in cases like Fort McMurray that have a wildfire that impacted the whole town two years ago, they’re still in the rebuilding phase and there are still many homes there,” he said.

Still, some residents on Hickory Drive are looking on the bright side.

It took Tony Krosel‘s parents a year to move home. Their house was destroyed in the explosion and rebuilt from the ground up. Krosel said their homecoming was emotional.

“They loved it,” said Krosel. “It’s nice to be back. Everything’s brand new, so it took a while to get used to things. You have to trust the process, and it worked out well for them.”

Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s office said the city had and will continue to do everything in its power to help affected residents, but added at this point they must rely on insurance companies to do their part to ensure the remaining residents get back home.