List Revealed: Do You Have A Propane Facility Near Your Home?

After an incredible propane explosion placed the spotlight on urban industrial sites and the potential risks for those who live around them comes word there are 73 similar fuel filling stations around the GTA, and more than 300 in the province.

However, many of the Toronto locations are much smaller than the facility involved at Sunday’s devastating blast at Sunrise Propane at 54 Murray Rd.  Only seven of them are industrial; the rest are commercial.

That may still be a danger, claims one man.

“I’m not sure people want to put their communities at risk for the benefit of a good steak,” points out Brian Patterson of the Ontario Safety League.

The pre-dawn explosion claimed two lives and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in north west Toronto.

Mayor David Miller has called for officials to take another look at zoning requirements and is calling for large propane facilities to be kept at least 1.6 kilometres from residential areas.

“Oh, yeah, definitely they are overreacting,” counters entrepreneur Hardip Grewal. He owns a propane facility.

“These things are fine. Like these, the lines are underground. Everything’s safety-checked. These have been going around for years and years. We’ve never had a problem with a service station like this,” Grewel continues.

Under current zoning rules, large tanks must be 91 metres from a school and eight metres from homes. But those rules don’t apply to small facilities, and the totals mentioned above don’t include cylinder exchange services offered at hardware outlets or grocery stores, where you can trade in your empty BBQ tank for a full one.

“They should have changed the rules and announced a review of the rules as starting immediately and got on with some inspections right away,” argues provincial Conservative Leader John Tory.

Some safety experts and officials are calling for a measured response. If GTA residents don’t want to live around these facilities, shipping propane carries risks as well that need to be considered.

Members of the propane industry would also like to see the final report regarding the cause of the explosion before any decisive action is taken and reminded the public their industry has a strong safety record and is highly regulated.

Is there one near your home?

Click here to see where all the depots are in Toronto.

Click here for the entire Ontario list.

In addition to the locations on the Toronto list, there is a gas station with a propane tank at Dundas St. East and Carlaw Ave.