A car crashed into a gas meter and set off the explosion in downtown Essex on Feb. 14, 1980.
The car that crashed into a gas meter and set off the explosion in downtown Essex on Feb. 14, 1980. (Windsor Star files)
A gas explosion in Essex. (Windsor Star files)
The car that crashed into gas meter and set off the explosion. (Windsor Star files)
Gas explosion that rocked the Town of Essex. (Lee Palser/Windsor Star)
Essex firefighter Rick Bonneau was one of the first on the scene when there was a big explosion in downtown Essex, ON. 35 years ago. He is pictured Friday, Feb. 13, 2015, with a copy of The Windsor Star published Feb. 14, 1980. He is one of the firemen silhouetted against the flames. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)
The car that crashed into a gas meter lies upside-down after being wrecked by explosion. (Windsor Star files)
Fred Groves stands at the scene of the catastrophic fire that destroyed a section of Essex, Ontario in 1980. (JASON KRYK/The Windsor Star)
Gas explosion in Town of Essex. (Grant Black/Windsor Star)
The scene in downtown Essex following the blast that levelled the hardware store, lower right. (Lee Palser/Windsor Star files)
