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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

Enjoy Modern and Historic Delights In The Vibrant City Of Mississauga

12/1/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO equipment on shelves in a garage. SERVPRO of North Mississauga is ready a prepared to assist you with your fired damaged property.

Mississauga Has A Long History and Plenty Of Modern Amenities

Mississauga enjoys a beautiful location close to Toronto and on the shore of magnificent Lake Ontario. Mississauga is a fascinating city with a multicultural popular, and thriving business district. At the last census, it had a population of 721,599.

Being so close to Toronto makes Mississauga popular as a commuter town – and it has a lot to offer residents and visitors in its own right. Mississauga's multicultural vibe makes sense when you consider that, historically, the city was always composed of different communities.

A City Of Many Villages

In 1805, officials from York (that is now called Toronto) purchased 84,000 acres of land from the Mississaugas (the native people of the area.) That parcel of land became Toronto Township, which despite its name, is not part of Toronto.

Mississauga continued to grow throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many villages sprung up in the area, which was mostly agricultural. There were many fruit orchards in the area, plus a handful of brickworks and grist mills. This collection of villages officially became a town in 1968. Prior to becoming a town, there was a public consultation on the new town's name, with officially eventually choosing "Mississauga" over "Sheridan."

Mississauga is unusual in consisting of so many villages joined together under one name. Today, this history can be seen in the number of vibrant and different communities that make up the city. These include:

  • Erin Mills, a large, suburban district that was precisely planned out as a new town and incorporates suburban living and a thriving business community.
  • Churchill Meadows, a modern and cosmopolitan community with a striking visual character, thanks to the classic touches the architects added to the contemporary homes.
  • Port Credit sits on Lake Ontario's shores and includes a heritage district with strong ties to its past. There was a trading post on the site in the late eighteenth century, and the area has been occupied ever since.
  • Malton was built on a historic settlement site and is now a modern working-class neighbourhood with strong ties to the aviation industry and a strong sports community.
  • Clarkson is a middle and upper-class district with historic buildings and museums that link it to its more industrial past. Clarkson started as a small settlement based around its post office (which was operated by members of the Clarkson family for 45 years) and is now a lively community.

 Enjoy Shopping In Mississauga

Historic Mississauga also enjoys many modern amenities. The city is an excellent destination for those who love to shop, thanks to its range of malls, including:

  • Square One Shopping Centre, which is the largest mall in Ontario and the second-largest in all of Canada. The centre boasts over 360 units and welcomes 24 million visitors yearly. 
  • Erin Mills Town Centre is the second largest mall in Mississauga and is conveniently served by several road links and a bus station located behind the centre. It is also famous as a filming location for several movies, including Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and even a game show (Instant Cash.)
  • Dixie Outlet Mall is the largest enclosed outlet mall in Canada and contains many brand names such as Guess, Levis, Calvin Klein, and Nike.

A Derailed Train Gives Mississauga An Explosive History

Mississauga has not been without potential disasters. In 1979, a 106-car train derailed while carrying explosives and chemicals such as caustic soda, propane, and chlorine. The tragedy happened because an incorrectly lubricated bearing on one of the wheels heated up. At first, the friction caused sparks and smoke, and then it drove an axle and a pair of wheels to fall off entirely.

The damaged undercarriage derailed the train, and several propane tanks exploded, causing a knock-on effect that ruptured several other tanks filled with dangerous materials. The resulting explosion was so powerful that it could be seen from 60 miles away and sent a fireball 5,000 ft into the air.

Thanks to some quick thinking and a suggestion from his father-in-law (who happened to be the train engineer), the brakeman was able to shut an air brake angle spigot. This let him detach some of the cars and move the front part of the train down the line and away from danger.

Although firefighters were able to cool the tanks, there was a release of chlorine into the air. Concerned for residents' safety, officials ordered 200,000 people to evacuate their homes. The Mississauga evacuation was the largest in peace-time North American until Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath, officials decreed that any train carrying hazardous chemicals through populated areas in North America must be fitted with a hotbox detector to detect rising heat.

The Mississauga derailment is also known as the Mississauga miracle because, despite the 5000 ft fireball and dangerous chemicals, no lives were lost.

SERVPRO Knows How To Handle Fire and Smoke Cleanup

The people who were evacuated during the Mississauga derailment were most likely worried about their homes catching fire. Thankfully train derailments are rare, but there are still several things that can cause a fire in the house:

  • Open flames such as hearth fires, candles, and oil burners.
  • Accidents in the kitchen, such as cooking fires or oil spills.
  • Incorrect wiring or damaged appliance leads.
  • A faulty heater or a heater being covered up.

In the event of a fire, SERVPRO is here to help. We aim to restore your home to its pre-fire condition, leaving it, "Like it never even happened." We train our technicians to handle smoke and soot cleanup.

Because we focus on cleaning rather than replacing items, calling us means giving your belongings the best chance of rescue. We can clean soot from furniture, keepsakes, clothes, linen, drapes, and toys. We know that lingering smoke smells are a problem after a fire, so we also take care of deodorization to leave your home fresh.

Do not despair if a fire strikes your home. SERVPRO of North Mississauga will take care of every aspect of fire and smoke cleanup. Call us at (905) 238-7376.

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