TORONTO BURNS - EXPLOSIONS ROCK NORTH

LUKE 21:25-26
25 and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

ISAIAH 13:6-8 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

TORONTO EXPLOSIONS
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=9216943&ch=1329521

TORONTO UPDATE
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN1029388920080810

WELL WE JUST HAVE A PREVIEW OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN (NOT IF) RADICAL MUSLIMS BLOW UP CANADIAN CITIES.

Massive fire at Toronto propane depot forces thousands to flee Toronto firefighter may be casualty, taken from scene without vital signs Updated: Sunday, August 10, 2008 | 3:16 PM ET CBC News

A series of explosions ripped through Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases early Sunday morning lighting up the pre-dawn sky in northwest Toronto, between Highway 401 and Downsview Park. (Submitted by Andrew Erlich) A massive explosion tore through a propane depot in north Toronto early Sunday, closing major highways and subway lines, and forcing thousands to flee their homes.One firefighter was taken from the scene by ambulance without any vital signs shortly before 2:30 p.m. ET, Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash said. No further details were provided.Next thing you know, I've got glass in my head and I'm running down the road. Neighbour Shelby DeganSeveral other people suffered minor injuries when a series of explosions ripped through Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases at 54 Murray Rd. just before 4 a.m. ET, Toronto Fire division commander Bob O'Hallarn told reporters.Pugash said one person thought to be in the general area is unaccounted for. He said the person is connected to the Sunrise Propane business, although he could not say in what capacity. He had no further details.

Residents said the explosion was terrifying.

My whole house shook. The front door came off and I saw fire, said Shelby Degan, who lives less than a block away from the depot.This photo was taken from Canyon Avenue at 3:52 a.m. ET. (Submitted by Yuriy Nazarenko) Next thing you know, I've got glass in my head and I'm running down the road.O'Hallarn said the explosion sent large pieces of metal — likely from tanks that exploded at the Sunrise Propane site — flying into nearby streets. Nearby homes were damaged, windows shattered and doors ripped off their hinges. More than 100 firefighters battled intense heat to fight spot fires that continued to burn into Sunday afternoon.Toronto police ordered the evacuation of neighbourhoods within 1.6 kilometres of Sunrise Propane, north of Highway 401. Thousands of people living between Keele Street, Dufferin Street, Sheppard Street and Wilson Avenue have been ordered to leave their homes and are not expected to be allowed to return for several hours.Yorkdale Shopping Centre was ordered evacuated Sunday afternoon, although no further details were provided.Census figures for the area suggest that more than 12,000 people live in the affected zone. Many of the evacuees are now being housed at York University, where they are sleeping in beds set up in the school gymnasium. The Red Cross is supplying food and water to evacuees, while the Humane Society is providing food and water to pets.

Map of the evacuation area, near Keele St. and Wilson Ave., northwest Toronto. (CBC)
I think we're very lucky, O'Hallarn said. There was a very, very large amount of fire when we arrived … It could have been much more serious. Hopefully we won't find that there are a lot of people missing or injured, but so far it looks like we got off very lucky.Only one person, a truck driver, was believed to be on the Sunrise Propane site at the time of the explosion, O'Hallarn said. He said the driver managed to take himself to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries.

Canada's busiest highway closed
Police coordinated the evacuation and closed Highway 401, Canada's busiest stretch of road, for a 16-kilometre stretch between the Don Valley Parkway and Highway 400. Sgt. Cam Woolley of the Ontario Provincial Police said traffic in the area is snarled and several accidents had occurred.

I'm lucky that I got out of there alive.
—Resident Robert Halman I guess we're kind of lucky this is a Sunday and not a weekday, but traffic is very, very busy, he told CBC News, suggesting that motorists wishing to travel through the area take the more northern Highway 407, a toll highway.A no-fly zone was ordered over the area, as emergency workers feared that propane tankers parked on the site might spark further explosions, although those fears were diminishing by about 11:30 a.m. ET.Natural gas and hydro were shut off to the area as a precaution.The first explosion, which could be heard seven kilometres away, shook nearby homes and buildings, waking residents.Robert Halman, who lives on Murray Road, said his ceiling crashed on top of him, and the doors and windows of his home blew out. Flames were everywhere, with fireballs exploding into the sky.

He escaped, but his shirt caught fire, burning his back. His forehead was covered in blood from the debris that hit him.I'm lucky that I got out of there alive, he said,

Pearson traffic moving normally
Shelby Degan holds her sweater to her mouth in an attempt to filter out the smoke near her home which is several blocks from a the site of a huge blaze at a propane depot in northwest Toronto. (J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)Regular commercial air traffic is moving in and out of Pearson International Airport, but smaller, privately owned aircraft have been restricted from flying over the affected area, said Trish Krale, spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.O'Hallarn said air quality is good and there's no fear of harmful toxins in the area.He said there were initial fears that two burning truck tankers on the Sunrise site could spark more explosions. But as of Sunday afternoon, one of the fires was under control. Another small tanker continued to burn — its tires covered in flames — but O'Hallarn said it is not filled with propane, so the risk of explosion is minimal.

While emergency crews worked, the Downsview, Yorkdale and Wilson subway stations were closed and the Toronto Transit Commission was not running shuttle buses through the affected area because of the possible danger. CP 24 reported that at about 2:30 p.m. ET some service had resumed.Northbound trains were being turned back at the Lawrence West subway station.TTC spokesman Brad Ross said many bus routes were also being altered to detour around the evacuation zones. He said about 500,000 to 750,000people ride the TTC on a typical Sunday.With files from the Canadian Press

T.O. firefighter in medical trouble at blast site Sun. Aug. 10 2008 3:26 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff

A firefighter has been rushed to hospital from the scene of a blast at a north Toronto propane facility after being found with vital signs absent, police have confirmed.CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon told Newsnet on Sunday that details are sketchy, but it could be a cardiac arrest situation.Thousands of people remain out of their homes following the early Sunday explosions, and now there is word that Yorkdale Mall's management -- the massive shopping centre southeast of the explosion, where some blast evacuees were originally taken -- has ordered a precautionary evacuation.There have been other, more minor injuries associated with the blast. Police are still trying to determine the status of one missing person, an employee of the business -- Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases.There were workers at the facility, which operates 24 hours per day. Cabbies driving propane-powered vehicles often use it to fill up.However, the situation at the propane facility itself is slowly getting under control, Division Commander Bob O'Hallarn of Toronto Fire told a news conference late Sunday morning. Subway service along the upper northernwest reaches of the Yonge-University subway line has been restored, the Toronto Transit Commission said Sunday afternoon in a news release.The 401 Highway, one of the country's busiest, remains closed between the 400 Highway, a major artery leading north out of Toronto, and the Don Valley Parkway. There is a partial closure of the air space over the fire site.The sounds of multiple booming blasts woke up people living in North York around Keele Street and Wilson Avenue between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Fire officials determined that the explosion originated from the Sunrise facility on Murray Road.The blast sparked a six-alarm blaze, with 160 firefighters and 35 pieces of equipment on scene to fight the fire.

When they arrived on the scene, four propane tanks were engulfed in flames. O'Hallarn said the situation had improved by about 11 a.m., and that fire crews were dealing with one propane truck tanker that still had flames burning underneath. Fire officials believe it is the tires underneath that are burning.It's still a risk but not as much as a risk as it was before, he said. Firefighters have trying to cool the propane rail tankers to keep them from exploding. They are worked on extinguishing the spot fires that sprouted throughout the facility. The rail tankers -- which were venting -- can hold up to 220,000 litres of propane, but it isn't known if they are full, O'Hallarn said.These tanks are well-designed and generally are quite safe, he said. We'll have to investigate to see what happened.

The residents of the neighbourhood are lucky the situation was not worse, said O'Hallarn. There was a very, very large amount of fire when we arrived and the extent of the explosion if the blast was heard as far away as it was, could have been much more serious.O'Hallarn said the cause of the blast isn't yet known. The Ontario Fire Marshal's Office is on scene investigating the incident.

Giant fireballs

Several people reported minor injuries as the blast blew out windows and caused major damage to several homes. Police say that so far, one person is unaccounted for, but investigators gave no further details.The blast lit up the area with giant orange fireballs, sent smoke billowing into the sky and could reportedly be heard dozens of kilometres away.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 area resident Robert Helman.My windows just cracked and they blew out, said Ricardo Oliveria, 24.My whole room lights up orange and I look out. I live on the top floor so I had a perfect view. And I just seen a huge ball of flame hundreds of metres in the sky, big black pillars of smoke.We got freaked out. My family woke up. They thought it was a plane that went down, he said.O'Hallarn said his firefighters found some vehicles on fire in the area and damage to houses across the street when they arrived at the scene.So far we have not found anyone injured (in the houses), he said.Earlier, police said they were concerned about a driver who was on the site filling up his truck with propane. He has since been located safe but with minor injuries.The driver made his way to North York General Hospital, O'Hallarn said. He was there, filling up his truck. He saw smoke or some type of gas, went to report that, left the area and then as soon as he left, there was an explosion.

Evacuees

Fire officials said residents living in a 1.6-kilometre radius around the plant had been evacuated over concerns about explosions from the tankers. Businesses in the area were forced to close.Evacuees were taken to York University, at Keele Street and Steeles Avenue, where Salvation Army volunteers served them a hot meal. The Red Cross and the Humane Society will also be at York University to help people and pets in need.I don't think it will be days (before the evacuees can return home), I think it will be hours but if we run into problems that we can't foresee, then it might take longer, O'Hallarn said.Despite the risk, some people are refused to leave their homes.The Canadian Press estimated that as many as 12,500 people could live in the evacuation zone around the site.The evacuation zone encompasses Sheppard Avenue to Wilson Avenue, Dufferin Street to Keele Street. Toronto Mayor David Miller is on vacation but has been reached by his office and has been regularly briefed on the situation, according to his spokesperson Stuart Green. He is expected to speak with the media later Sunday afternoon.Elaine Smyer, with the city's emergency planning department, was at York University overseeing the evacuees. She told reporters at the scene that crisis councillors have been made available to residents who were traumatized by the early morning blast.Friends and family should not come to York University to see their loved ones but can instead call a special phone number to inquire about their status, she said. People will be asked to leave a message on an answering machine and someone will call them back, Smyer said. The phone number for friends and families of evacuees is 416-736-5185.Smyer said she expects most of the people who have been evacuated will choose to stay with their family and friends instead of at the university until they are allowed to return back home.We do have the co-operation of York University if we need to expand to other facilities, she said.With files from The Canadian Press.

Georgia offers ceasefire as fighting continues By Denis Sinyakov AUG 10,08

TSKHINVALI, Georgia (Reuters) - Georgia offered a ceasefire and peace talks on Sunday after pulling troops back from South Ossetia's separatist capital but some fighting continued and Russia demanded an unconditional withdrawal.Reflecting Western alarm at the widening conflict, the United States condemned Russia's disproportionate and dangerous military action. France, the holder of the EU presidency, sent its foreign minister on a peace mission.Russian troops and tanks took control of Tskhinvali, the region's devastated capital, early on Sunday after a three-day battle. Moscow said 2,000 civilians were killed and thousands made homeless in a humanitarian catastrophe.The simmering conflict between Russia and its small, former Soviet neighbor Georgia erupted late on Thursday when Georgia sent forces into South Ossetia, a small pro-Russian province which threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s.Russia, which had provided support to the separatists and acted as a peacekeeper in the province, responded by pouring troops and tanks south through the Caucasus mountains into South Ossetia to drive back the Georgians.The conflict alarmed the West, which views Georgia as a valuable, if volatile, ally because of its strategic location on an energy transit route carrying oil from the Caspian to Europe. It hit Russian markets as investors sold stocks and the ruble because of concerns that the conflict might spread.The United States said any further Russian escalation of the conflict could have a significant, long-term impact on relations and called on Russia and Georgia to cease hostilities and return to their pre-conflict positions.President Dmitry Medvedev said Georgia must unconditionally withdraw from South Ossetia and sign a formal pledge not to attack the region.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner Kouchner arrived in Georgia late on Sunday for talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili and planned to continue to Moscow.In Paris, the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would also visit the Russian capital in the next few days for talks on South Ossetia.Meanwhile, fighting continued. A Reuters reporter in the town of Gori, just south of South Ossetia, reported heavy bombardment of areas around Tskhinvali on Sunday evening, although it was not clear who was firing.Russian planes again bombed the Tbilisi military airport and a nearby aviation plant. One bomb exploded near the runway of the civilian international airport, although Moscow denied targeting that facility.A Reuters photographer entering Tskhinvali with Russian troops on Sunday afternoon saw the bodies of Georgian soldiers lying in the streets and the ruins of buildings devastated in the fighting.Georgia and Russia have accused each other of causing widespread civilian casualties since the fighting began.State-controlled Russian television repeatedly spoke of a humanitarian catastrophe in South Ossetia after the Georgian attack, with more than 2,000 dead and thousands homeless.A Georgian government source said on Sunday 130 Georgian civilians and military personnel had been killed and 1,165 wounded, many because of Russian bombing inside Georgia. Russia denied hitting civilian targets.

TANK FIRE

Russian television showed what it said were pictures from Tskhinvali of burnt-out buildings, wounded civilians receiving medical treatment in basements and weeping mothers complaining of a lack of food and water.The Georgian tanks fired at everything they saw, including women and children, one man said after his evacuation over the border to the Russian region of North Ossetia.Pictures on NTV television showed Tskhinvali's main hospital in ruins and most of its 200 patients crammed into the basement. Patients, many of them wincing, were receiving treatment on tabletops.

A few bare light bulbs provided scant illumination and the report said the hospital had no ready supply of water. Some patients sat listlessly on beds crammed into a tiny, dim area with unfinished walls.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cut short his visit to the Olympics on Saturday and flew to a field hospital in North Ossetia, visiting wounded troops and evacuees, and denouncing what he termed Georgia's crimes against its own people.Putin later briefed a Moscow-bound Medvedev on his trip, in a televised exchange which underlined Putin's continued dominance of Russian politics and government.Potentially widening the conflict, Sergei Bagapsh, the leader of Abkhazia, another separatist region on Georgia's Black Sea coast, said he had ordered 1,000 troops to push Georgian forces out of the Kodori Gorge, a strategic pocket of territory. He called up reservists.Georgia denounced what it termed new aggression by Moscow in Abkhazia. Moscow denied taking part in any operation in Abkhazia beyond its peacekeeping role.Russia's navy also entered the conflict, deploying a flotilla off Georgia's Black Sea coast.Russian news agencies quoted the Defence Ministry as saying navy ships sank a Georgian boat carrying missile launchers on Sunday after a skirmish.The navy earlier said Russian warships originally said to be near Georgian waters had put into Novorossiisk, a Russian Black Sea port to the north.(For special cover see http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/georgiaconflict)