Downtown Toronto hydro vault explosion closes RBC building for six months
by The Canadian Press
The underground blasts shut down transit and sparked an evacuation at the bank's office in the city's Financial District last week
TORONTO—A Royal Bank of Canada office building in downtown Toronto that was evacuated last week after an underground hydro vault explosion will remain closed for at least six months due to smoke damage.
A series of blasts in the heart of the city’s financial district sent commuters scrambling along King Street West shortly after 5 p.m. May 1.
No one was injured, but the RBC building, along with sections of an underground shopping concourse, were evacuated during the incident.
RBC spokesperson Catherine Hudon says the bank’s offices at 20 King St. West will be closed for a minimum of six months based on environmental assessments and remediation work.
Hudon says employees have been moved to other RBC locations since the fire and the bank is considering renting another property for a short time.
Toronto Hydro says it has not yet completed its investigation into why the hydro vault exploded.
—With files from CP24
