Brantford police say a body has been found in the rubble of a home at 55 Ruffian Road that was destroyed by an explosion on Thursday afternoon.
The home was the residence of Henry Grasso and his wife, 46-year-old Nancy Grasso.
Henry was at work when the explosion occurred, but Nancy has been missing since the explosion.
He says "I'll do anything to get my wife back, but I don't know what to do and I don't know what to say. Last night I was up praying and crying…I try to hold it together in front of people, but it's hard."
The body was found around 2:30 p.m., but there is no official confirmation as to whether the body is that of the missing woman.
A post mortem examination has been scheduled for Monday at Hamilton General Hospital.
At a press conference Friday morning, officials revealed the explosion is believed to have been caused by some type of gas.
Wayne Romaine, a supervisor with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office, says it was a deflagration, not a detonation.
"A deflagration relates to the rate of rise, which this chemical reaction has taken place, where the rate of rise is rather slow."
But Henry says he's not sure what could have caused the explosion because there are no gas appliances in the house.
"If the dryer was gas, maybe you could relate it to something but there's nothing down there except the furnace and hot water tank."
It took four fire stations and 19 firefighters over an hour to get the blaze that followed the explosion under control.
About 30 homes in the area were damaged to some extent and six suffered significant damage, forcing the temporary evacuation of some residents.
After checking all the neighbouring homes, investigators now say there is no further risk to the public safety.
The Brantford Police Service is now the lead agency in the investigation, following the discovery of the body.
