Propane Fireball Result From Explosion In Toronto

Explosions at a propane facility forced thousands of people to evacuate early Sunday, and witnesses described the sky lighting up in the glow of an enormous fireball before turning black with billowing smoke.

Police said there were only minor injuries, but firefighters were battling blazes at the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases facility hours later. The series of explosions around 3:50 a.m. EDT also shut down the city's busiest highways, snarling traffic for thousands of travelers.

Some residents said the blast was so forceful they felt their homes rock as though they had been struck by an earthquake.

"It was just a tremendous explosion and blew all the windows out of the house, just blew the house up, and I just managed to get out of there in time," said Robert Helman, who was covered in cuts and bruises as he fled his home.

Residents within a one-mile radius were ordered to evacuate immediately, and police brought in buses to take residents out of the area.

About a dozen terrified residents _ some clad in pajamas and housecoats _ found their way on foot to nearby Yorkdale shopping mall, where security offered them water and a place to rest.

While police couldn't immediately identify how many people would be affected by the evacuation request, census data of that part of Toronto suggests that there could be as many 12,500 people and 5,300 private dwellings in the one-mile area around the explosion.

Toronto fire services division commander Bob O'Hallarn said he saw at least five heavily damaged homes and said it could he hours before residents are allowed back into the neighborhood.

The remaining burning propane tanks at Toronto plant were almost out, he said.

"There was a very large of amount of fire when we arrived," O'Hallarn said. "It could have been much more serious."