Jasreen Sidhu was in the classroom with toddlers, with her back to the window, when the blast of an exploding welding truck hit the Tiny Hoppers Daycare building.
On July 26, a welding truck exploded in a parking lot at the Willoughby Town Centre damaging the nearby building and windows of several businesses.
Sidhu, a teacher at the daycare, was in the toddler classroom when the truck exploded in the parking lot her classroom overlooks.
“When the blast happened, I was startled and confused — it sounded like a missile flew into the car park and blew up,” she recalled.
The infants were outside and daycare teachers were getting ready to take the toddler-aged kids out to join them. Sidhu said her class was going outside next.
It only took teachers a moment to react after the explosion.
“As soon as we saw the flames and smoke, our first instinct was to get the kids out immediately. In that moment, nothing else mattered to us,” Sidhu said.
Daycare staff rushed with the kids out of the building to meet at the centre’s meetup point, but employees at the RBC bank let them inside their air-conditioned space while teachers performed a headcount and contacted parents.
“Of course we had a couple of screaming and crying kids, but we were able to smoothly evacuate the building without any stumbling or falling children,” she said.
Sidhu carried a baby in her arms, with two children from her class on each side of her. She also took one of the toddlers with her who had almost wandered away.
“We are so grateful to the RBC bank, who opened their doors to us. We would have just had all the kids outside by the Independent,” she said, noting the Independent is the centre’s planned meetup point for emergencies.
Once all the kids were accounted for, daycare staff began calling the parents, which are kept in a book in the first aid kit.
Aaron Milne is one of the parents who received a phone call to pick up their children.
“I didn’t recognize the numbers so I ignored them, and then my wife [received them] so she finally picked up and it was the teachers calling from their personal phones,” he explained.
Milne and his wife left immediately to get their two kids — a one-year-old son and five-year-old daughter.
“When we got there, we realized the scope of what was happening. Fire crew, hazmat, FortisBC, basically everyone was on deck. Lots of crews and crowds gathered,” he said.
By this point, several businesses had closed and police taped off the area.
“The teachers were doing a great job keeping it together, but we could see the shake up on their faces,” Milne noted.
He said a particular emotional moment was learning that the teacher looking after his son, who was outside when the truck exploded, shielded him from the glass and debris.
“He was uninjured, quite the heroine moment,” Milne praised.
When he arrived, his son was napping in the teacher’s arms.
Milne said it helped the teachers hadn’t disclosed that something exploded when they called parents because this way parents weren’t in a panic.
One week later, Milne said his daughter, who was inside when the truck exploded, is struggling.
“She’s definitely suffering. I think a little more from just the dramatics of the event that occurred and the not quite sure why or how. We’ve definitely noticed a bit of a shift in her demeanor,” Milne shared.
Kaitlyn Crone said her three-year-old daughter, who was in the daycare at the time, is also struggling with sleep and anxiety since the explosion.
She lives only two blocks away from the town centre and felt her home shake.
“Once I realized we were safe and one of my neighbours said it came from the town centre, all I could think of was my daughter and getting to her,” Crone shared. “It’s every parent’s worst fear.”
Crone said she has some residual anxiety about the ongoing “what ifs” but noted it is a miracle no one was seriously injured or killed.
“I am so grateful for the first responders and to the daycare staff for keeping the kids safe,” she said.
Two weeks after the explosion, Sidhu said she is better now that she has had time to rest.
“But I will only be completely fine when the centre reopens and life goes back to normal. Then we can put all this behind us,” she said.
On Tuesday, Aug. 1, Tiny Hoppers notified parents the daycare closure would be extended to two weeks due to challenges sourcing replacement windows and glass.
It leaves an estimated 70 infants and young children without childcare, impacting about 30 to 40 parents.
Impacted parents are appealing to the community for help to find space or set up a temporary alternative until the daycare is operating again, Milne said.
People who can offer support are asked to contact Milne at aaronjmilne@gmail.com.
READ MORE: Daily scramble: Parents struggle to find childcare after Langley explosion closes daycare
RELATED: UPDATE: WorkSafeBC investigating vehicle explosion in Langley
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