Still waiting for my stormy evenings but how’s that for an explosive exposé?

As explained in SPI#0, the number above is probably a little low but it might be too early to judge. In 2021, for example, I count 37 reports of type “EXPLOSION”. At the same time, despite data being unavailable for about 2 months of this year there are only 11 reports (average 3 per month).

As you can see on the map above, there seem to be clusters of these reports but to me it’s not immediately obvious why.

For starters, the data doesn’t indicate what types of explosions are being reported. Are they gas leaks? Meth labs? Faulty car wiring? Fireworks?

There’s also no indication of how many explosions resulted in any damage or injury, although it might be possible to tease out some information from other sources.

Finally, just because someone reported an explosion doesn’t necessarily mean that there was one. But if even half of them are genuine, that’s a whole lot more ‘splodin going on around town than I’d guessed.

The events shown on the map are listed below but the addresses are reverse-geocoded, meaning that they’re approximations. Each address link opens up a Google Street View window at the exact location of the report.

1. 2020-09-09, 4:55:25 p.m. – 89 Munro Street
2. 2020-09-13, 8:27:42 a.m. – 320 St. Clair Avenue West
3. 2020-09-27, 8:22:25 p.m. – 941 Progress Avenue
4. 2020-10-07, 6:16:03 p.m. – 174 Grenview Boulevard South
5. 2020-10-19, 10:23:56 p.m. – 510 Runnymede Road
6. 2020-10-23, 7:59:20 p.m. – 87 Baby Point Road
7. 2020-10-25, 5:04:10 p.m. – 1668 Kingston Road
8. 2020-10-29, 9:28:05 p.m. – 20 Erinlea Crescent
9. 2020-11-13, 3:05:28 a.m. – Yorkland Boulevard
10. 2020-11-13, 3:05:28 a.m. – 30 Herons Hill Way
11. 2020-11-22, 6:06:45 p.m. – 276 Steeles Avenue East
12. 2020-11-27, 5:22:16 p.m. – 1152 Woodbine Avenue
13. 2020-12-15, 10:23:39 a.m. – 5 Saugeen Crescent
14. 2021-01-26, 7:42:24 p.m. – 2263 Lawrence Avenue East
15. 2021-02-04, 9:24:19 p.m. – 139 Dundas Street East
16. 2021-03-02, 6:59:14 p.m. – Washburn Way
17. 2021-03-02, 8:34:09 p.m. – 2018 Davenport Road
18. 2021-03-10, 11:54:45 p.m. – 36 Cormier Heights
19. 2021-03-20, 1:47:23 a.m. – 405 Guildwood Parkway
20. 2021-03-24, 3:41:55 a.m. – 2937 Lake Shore Boulevard West
21. 2021-03-25, 11:51:23 a.m. – 989 Danforth Avenue
22. 2021-04-01, 1:47:19 p.m. – 755 Queen Street West
23. 2021-04-02, 5:35:08 p.m. – Taylor Creek Trail
24. 2021-05-31, 4:35:12 p.m. – 55 St Georges Boulevard
25. 2021-06-01, 3:37:13 p.m. – 2 Annette Street
26. 2021-06-10, 12:53:09 p.m. – 19 Rosemount Drive
27. 2021-06-11, 3:34:52 p.m. – 42 Overlea Boulevard
28. 2021-06-21, 7:18:51 a.m. – 43 Fairholme Avenue
29. 2021-06-24, 6:36:02 p.m. – 75 Byng Avenue
30. 2021-06-29, 3:30:31 p.m. – 792 Arrow Road
31. 2021-06-30, 7:35:49 p.m. – 65 Wanless Avenue
32. 2021-07-04, 2:13:26 a.m. – 1500 Victoria Park Avenue
33. 2021-08-04, 7:36:48 a.m. – 165 Shaughnessy Boulevard
34. 2021-08-23, 8:07:32 a.m. – 190 Bingham Avenue
35. 2021-08-28, 8:00:15 p.m. – Lake Shore Boulevard West
36. 2021-08-31, 7:09:15 p.m. – 150 Sherbourne Street
37. 2021-09-08, 9:55:09 a.m. – 223 Wicksteed Avenue
38. 2021-09-08, 1:33:21 p.m. – 24 Coxwell Avenue
39. 2021-09-10, 9:10:05 p.m. – 2334 Danforth Avenue
40. 2021-09-14, 7:21:33 a.m. – 331 Spadina Road
41. 2021-09-20, 10:01:20 p.m. – 731 Woodbine Avenue
42. 2021-09-23, 2:25:19 p.m. – Terauley Lane
43. 2021-10-09, 6:58:10 p.m. – 2645 Kipling Avenue
44. 2021-10-11, 9:28:10 a.m. – 1990 Bloor Street West
45. 2021-10-20, 8:39:06 a.m. – 65 Southport Street
46. 2021-10-21, 2:56:16 p.m. – 92 Highcroft Road
47. 2021-11-08, 8:48:02 a.m. – 172 King Street East
48. 2021-11-11, 2:04:54 p.m. – 60 Byng Avenue
49. 2021-11-21, 2:22:38 p.m. – 39 Venetian Crescent
50. 2021-12-05, 9:23:04 p.m. – 100 Gamble Avenue
51. 2021-12-11, 5:14:09 p.m. – Humber College Boulevard
52. 2022-03-08, 9:31:28 p.m. – 1464 Midland Avenue
53. 2022-04-28, 11:14:37 p.m. – Gerrard Street East
54. 2022-04-29, 12:22:16 p.m. – 53 Hyde Avenue
55. 2022-05-25, 6:02:02 p.m. – 65 Dundas Street East
56. 2022-06-07, 8:13:08 a.m. – 32 Saddletree Drive
57. 2022-06-21, 3:47:41 p.m. – 32 Haas Road
58. 2022-06-21, 3:55:32 p.m. – 32 Haas Road
59. 2022-07-16, 10:11:04 p.m. – 2013 Steeles Avenue West
60. 2022-07-17, 11:08:21 p.m. – 130 Fundy Bay Boulevard
61. 2022-07-19, 8:31:50 p.m. – 115 Gowan Avenue
62. 2022-08-03, 8:51:36 p.m. – 326 Dundas Street East