TORONTO, July 22 (UPI) -- Toronto fire investigators probing a massive underground electrical explosion at an apartment building say it could be weeks before 1,000 residents can return.
An underground electrical vault in the 22-story building exploded Sunday with enough force to lift a fire pumper truck off the ground before a major fire broke out.
"We are in the early stages of our investigation, which will take a considerable length of time," said Bill Hiscott of the Ontario Fire Marshal's office.
Nine firefighters and a resident received non-life threatening injuries in the five-alarm blaze.
However, displaced residents are becoming anxious about pets and medicines left in their units, which have no electricity, water or gas, the Toronto Sun reported Tuesday.
Police have ventured into units to retrieve items, but residents aren't allowed in, as the building's structural integrity isn't known, Hiscott said.
"The blast was so substantial because it was confined and it went through the length of the building," he told the newspaper, adding the explosion site was under four feet of water.
The Salvation Army and Red Cross are caring for some of the displaced residents in a nearby school, the report said.
