Explosion on West Broadway

Wow, I’m one of those people that need to fall asleep listening to something. So I always put my alarm clock radio on News 1130 as I head to bed. So this morning I hear how there was a huge explosion on Broadway & Ash that rocked the neighborhood for 2-3 blocks. Now, about 15 years or so ago, I worked right in that neighborhood. I loved working in that neighborhood. It’s such a busy street, full of quaint little shops and restaurants galore. London Drugs is right there, and you know it’s so bad because you can’t go in there and not walk out with things you really didn’t need. Wow, just crazy. Now they have confirmed it’s arson. Wow, someone was pretty adept at making his homemade bomb.

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Vancouver Police and Vancouver Fire Department investigators have now confirmed that this morning’s fire and explosion at 686 West Broadway was deliberately set.

VPD and the fire department say the fire was set inside the Taco Del Mar. An accelerant was used and there was a fuel-air explosion. Investigators will be releasing the scene later today to the building owners.

Witnesses report seeing a man running from the area around the time of the blast. Investigators will probably be looking at physical evidence all day, but they do have surveillance tape that may help confirm or reject the many unconfirmed stories circulating about the explosion.

The major east-west artery was reopened to traffic just after 11 this morning, but the eastbound right-hand lane is still blocked while the investigation and clean- up continues. Earlier this morning, broken glass and debris were scattered all over the road at Broadway and Heather.

As people headed to work in the area, they described the scene as something that belongs in a warzone. The Starbucks and Taco Del Mar restaurant have been ripped apart, and damage is extensive at several neighbouring businesses.

From the sixth floor of the Holiday Inn, about half a block away, the blast actually shattered the glass of a room while a guest slept in the bed about three feet away. Remarkably, she is just shaken up but okay.

The 2:30 am blast was strong enough to shatter the front windows of the London Drugs across the street. London Drugs has since reopened as well.

One man who was two blocks away when it happened, says he was about to go to sleep when he heard a huge explosion. He says it shook the whole building, so he went out to take a look. He says it’s unbelievable.

UPDATE:

So the news reported that the idiot who put the “accelerant” in the Taco Del Mar didn’t run away fast enough, and got 40% severely burned on his body, and he had to check into a hospital himself. So now the cops are checking on the owners. Like the cop on the news said, whenever any arson happens, it’s automatic that they reasearch the owners. And it is quite “convenient” that the owners, who happen to own 2 of these franchises…had them up for sale. And “oddly” enough, their house was up for sale too. Some news woman was interviewing the female owner (I think it was a husband/wife thing) and asking whether any of it had to do with them, and the lady does this chuckle that “of course” it wasn’t them. What-evah! I mean, would someone really bomb a store from eating a bad taco? Maybe next time you won’t hire your freakin’ brother-in-law to do the job to save some money. At least hire someone who actually has a smart understanding of how to get off with an arson job. The idiot probably walked all over the gasoline that he tossed. Supposedly he took the skytrain after his “job”, and got picked up by someone. Door knobs. But I still can’t understand how he was able to blow up half a city block!