TORONTO — Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery should be up and running on Sunday, Aug. 24, said Neil Cohen, president of the cemetery association.
A propane gas explosion forced Mount Sinai Memorial Park to close its gates last week. It is scheduled to be open by this Sunday. [Jeff Rosen photo]
By Aug. 18, most hazardous materials on the grounds were to have been removed. As well, toppled stones were to be placed upright and damaged ones stored, he said.
Four burials were to be held this week – with only limited numbers of mourners – and this coming Sunday, 14 scheduled unveilings will go ahead as planned, Cohen said.
As bad as the damage was due to the massive Aug. 10 propane explosion next door, it could have been a lot worse, said Cohen.
“No one was there at that hour, and the one big piece of propane hit where there are no graves. I don’t like to say that we were lucky, but we were,” Cohen said of the early-morning blast at Sunrise Propane.
Located north of Wilson Avenue near Keele Street, the cemetery has about 11,000 graves in 21 burial sections. It sustained damage to two of them – those of the Toronto Independent Benevolent Association (TIBA) and the Kiever Synagogue. As well, chapel windows were blown out, and grass was singed.
Coincidentally, Cohen said, two gravestones were damaged – out of about 20 that were damaged in all – next to his grandparents’ gravesite in the TIBA section.
“We received about 500 calls [the day after the explosion], and I understand people’s shock and concern. A proper burial is one of the most important aspects of Judaism, and when something happens, you get caught off guard. Emotions are strained even at the best of times. ”
While the cemetery was closed to the public, funerals were held on a “restricted” basis, Cohen said.
“The fire department [monitored] the safety of the air quality and the debris littering the grounds, and gave us permission to allow the lead car, the hearse, and one or two family cars per funeral. Guests attending services at the funeral parlors will be advised,” he added.
“As well, there [were] no visitations and no unveilings.”
The important thing, he said, is that the bodies were treated with dignity and buried within the proper amount of time.
Cemetery manager Phil Grenfell said that “by the grace of God, it happened when it happened. It would have been a terrible tragedy if it happened [in the afternoon that Sunday].”
He said that all repairs will be covered by insurance and would begin when all the metal from the explosion is removed and the police wrap up their investigation.
Families were to be notified about damaged gravestones once the cemetery assessed the damage, Grenfell said.
As of The CJN’s deadline, the annual memorial parade by the Wingate Branch #256 of the Royal Canadian Legion – scheduled for this Sunday – had been cancelled, a branch spokesperson said.
With files from Jeff Rosen.