Fenelon Falls Industrial Park Explosion, 1993

Originally Published in the Lindsay Daily Post, June 16, 1993

An early morning explosion destroyed a building housing four businesses in an industrial park here Tuesday (June 15, 1993). People living on the other side of Fenelon Falls were awakened by the sound of blast at about 2 am. One wall was virtually all that remained of the building at 96 Industrial Park Drive in the south part of the village. There were no injuries and damage estimates have run as high as $250,000.

“Police were alerted when a security alarm at Biggest Little Rentall was set off,” said Coboconk OPP Constable Dave Fletcher. “They were responding to an alarm at the place. When they got there, that portion of the building was still intact but the rest of the business was completely flattened.” The other businesses destroyed in the blast were Doug’s Print Shop in the centre of the three unit building and Brown’s Tire and Fenelon Transmission operating out of the third unit of the building.

Although there was no fire resulting from the blast, firefighters with the Fenelon Falls volunteer fire department were kept busy at the scene through Tuesday. Propane leaking from a tanker truck that was in the garage at the time of the explosion represented a potential danger. The truck was buried in the rubble of the destroyed building, making it difficult for firefighters to stem the leak of propane. About 700 litres of propane was believed in the 7,000 litre truck which was being kept in the garage overnight.

Tanker trucks ferried water to the site throughout the day. By mid-afternoon Tuesday, firefighters had poured 160,000 gallons of water onto the building in an effort to disperse the leaking propane. Throughout the day, police cordoned off the area for about 300 metres around the building in the event of further explosions. And Langton Public School, located within a mile of the blast, was closed for the day.

The explosion happened while a violent thunderstorm was hitting the area. Fenelon Falls area resident Brian Currel was driving to the village from Lindsay just before 2 am Tuesday. From several miles away, Mr. Currel said he saw a bolt of lightning touch down in the vicinity of the village, followed by a “big, big flash” that appeared to come up from the ground. “We were curious, we never saw anything flash that big before,” said Mr. Currel. He said police and firefighters were on the scene when he arrived in the village.

Investigators from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office have been called to investigate the cause of the blast. Fenelon Deputy Fire Chief Jerry Rintoul said three propane fuel tanks attached to the outside of the building remained intact. A fourth tank had been knocked away from the building but was also intact. And he said the tank of the propane truck in the garage had not exploded.

The building, owned by brothers Harmon and Silas Allen of Fenelon Falls, opened in April 1992. The Biggest Little Rentall, operated by Harmon Allen and his wife Fern had been opened just a week. Signs announcing the store’s grand opening were still posted throughout the village Tuesday.

“Can you use a compressor when it falls down out of the trees?” said Mrs. Allen. Approximately eight people were employed in the businesses which were destroyed.