On May 29, 1929, a series of explosions in the sewers of

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, killed one person. The first blast occurred just after noon in the

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...

area, west of the canal; over the next 25 minutes, a series of explosions travelled the length of the main line of the sewer system. The explosions first moved east under the canal and then moved through Sandy Hill under Somerset Street. After passing under the Rideau River, they followed the line as it turned north through what is today Vanier, before going through

New Edinburgh New Edinburgh is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the northeast of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Bee ...

to the point where the sewer system emptied into the Ottawa River. The blasts were fairly small, except when

manhole cover A manhole cover or maintenance hole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground vault or pipe. It is designed t ...

s were involved. At these points, the access to oxygen fuelled towering flames that erupted through the

manhole A manhole (utility hole, maintenance hole, or sewer hole) is an opening to a confined space such as a shaft, utility vault, or large vessel. Manholes are often used as an access point for an underground public utility, allowing inspection, m ...

covers onto city streets. The covers themselves were blown high into the air. Most of the damage from the sewer explosions occurred where sewage lines were attached to less sturdy pipes inside houses; blasts destroyed the plumbing in many residential basements. Besides property damage, the explosions caused one death and many injuries. The cause of the explosions was never definitively determined.

Methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...

naturally occurs in sewers, but it never accumulates in a concentration powerful enough to cause explosions of the magnitude seen in Ottawa. The Ottawa Gas Company vehemently insisted that the disaster could not have been caused by its lines. It is now thought that the fuel stations and mechanic shops in the city—new since the introduction of the automobile—contributed to the calamity. While these shops were required by law to dispose of all waste oils in a safe manner, there were no inspections; dumping waste into the sewage system was commonplace. In combination with problems in the sewer system's design, this pollution likely caused the 1929 blasts.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ottawa Sewer Explosion, 1929 Explosions in 1929 May 1929 events 1929 sewer explosion Explosions in Canada Sewerage 1929 disasters in Canada 1920s in Ottawa 1929 in Ontario

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