I had heard that same sound about 40 years ago when a propane depot near the town of Newmarket blew up one summer night.
I was at my parent's cottage on Lake Simcoe at the time and I can remember feeling my bed rattle from the shock wave that had originated 13 kilometres away.
Last Sunday I felt my house shake and when later measuring out the distance from that blast to my home I found it, too, had been 13 kilometres away.
Yet again, we had thousands of unprepared people forced to flee their homes and apartments in a state of chaos and confusion.
Terrible, heart-wrenching stories were reported of people whose lives were turned upside down, having no money, identification or proper clothing.
It was only two weeks ago that we had roughly a thousand local people lose their homes due to an explosion here in East York and that situation has not yet been completely resolved.
At that time I wrote that such a disaster should be a wake-up call for each of you to become personally prepared for such an event.
What took place last Sunday was not a distant or remote occurrence, particularly if it rattled the windows of my house.
When I was in Japan I was struck by the fact that every household is expected to be self-sufficient and fully prepared for a disaster.
Every department store that I went to in Tokyo had a disaster preparedness section that sold flashlights, water containers, first aid kits and a host of emergency items.
There is a wealth of information on emergency preparedness available through the City of Toronto or the public library that is free for the asking.
The actual cost of being prepared is always less than not being so, with your main task being to organize yourself so that you can find things quickly.
How many of you put wallets, purses, cell phones or street clothing in places that would be difficult to get to in an emergency?
If you were separated from loved ones or pets, would you have photographs of them to show rescue workers?
I kept reading in the newspapers quotes from people who fled their homes never expecting anything like this to ever happen to them, and how shocked and confused they were to be swept up into this bewildering new reality.
Yes, the whole situation begs many questions about the appropriateness of having people live right next to extremely explosive material.
That whole issue, and the regulatory mess that lies behind it, has to be addressed fully, honestly, openly and without political spin.
Right now, though, the fundamental message that you must heed is to be prepared for an emergency as recent events have shown us that the unthinkable can happen to any one of us.