{"id":17961,"date":"2023-06-06T23:52:53","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T06:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/update-gas-leak-under-control-at-michael-garron-hospital\/"},"modified":"2023-06-06T23:52:55","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T06:52:55","slug":"update-gas-leak-under-control-at-michael-garron-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/update-gas-leak-under-control-at-michael-garron-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Gas leak under control at Michael Garron Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

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TORONTO \u2014 A \u201csignificant\u201d gas leak at Michael Garron Hospital in east York caused roads to be closed and residents to be evacuated from the area this morning (June 6).<\/p>\n

Reports indicated a gas line was struck on Mortimer Avenue near the entrance of the emergency room, an area that is undergoing renovations.<\/p>\n

The primary objective was to prevent any natural gas from entering the hospital, said Toronto Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop at a press conference this afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe immediately shut down the HVAC system to the hospital to prevent the gas from coming in,\u201d he said. \u201cWe ended up with 10 crews and a hazardous materials response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enbridge was able to shut the gas supply off, Jessop reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cToronto Fire Service right now is doing one last air monitoring check throughout the main buildings\u2026but at this point, no report of injuries, no further risk to the public and most importantly the hospital maintains full continuity of operations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly is the immediate actions of our staff, working collaboratively with Michael Garron and Toronto Police Service and Toronto Paramedic Service, we were able to shut off intakes to the hospital which prevented the gas from getting in and then continued to monitor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emergency crews were called to the scene at 9:36 a.m. According to Toronto Police Operations Twitter the gas smell was \u201cstrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe smell could be noticed several blocks away given the diameter of the gas line,\u201d Jessop said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a five, six-inch diameter main. It was a significant gas leak. You could hear it coming up from blocks away\u2026It was expelling a lot of gas. The wind was on our side today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Jessop could not comment on what happened or the cause, it was confirmed that there are renovations occurring at the hospital and the construction company involved is EllisDon.<\/p>\n

In addition to shutting down the HVAC system, firefighters also deployed a number of handlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of the water is to disperse the gas so that it doesn\u2019t get concentrated and it doesn\u2019t pocket anywhere,\u201d Jessop explained. \u201cThe water is primarily used to make sure the gas continues to be dispersed and is redirected away from the hospital and any of the entrances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearby residents were evacuated in the Mortimer Avenue to Barker Avenue area and Coxwell Avenue to Crestland Avenue. The East York Civic Centre was also evacuated. The hospital and RH McGregor public school were not evacuated but people were encouraged to avoid the area.<\/p>\n

The emergency department at the hospital was put on redirect and other hospitals accommodated those patients for a period of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cA number of other buildings were evacuated and a number self-evacuated while others sheltered in place,\u201d Jessop said. \u201cToronto Fire Service air monitored all of the surrounding buildings and had staff in the hospital going floor to floor to make sure that there was no risk to any of the public given the proximity to the hospital to their staff or to any of their patients. At no time did we determine or detect any gas readings inside the hospital that would have caused us concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took over three hours to get the leak under control.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody did everything they could as safely as they could and as quickly as they could,\u201d Jessop noted.<\/p>\n

The streets and the buildings in the area are reopening.<\/p>\n

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