Explosion, fire destroys townhouse in SE Calgary; power, gas mostly restored
An explosion in southeast Calgary left a townhouse destroyed Thursday.
Emergency crews were called to Mahogany Road SE around 3:15 p.m. after getting reports about an explosion and a large plume of black smoke coming from a townhouse complex.
Calgary Fire Department (CFD) say responding crews arrived to find one of the townhouse units collapsed and fully engulfed in flames. Officials say the fire was quickly spreading to neighbouring units.
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“Crews worked quickly to contain the fire and simultaneously conducted searches and evacuations,” reads a release.
The unit where the explosion occurred was unoccupied at the time and all neighbouring homes were evacuated.
Four people were injured, including two firefighters, and one of the injured civilians was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
CFD spokesperson Carol Henke told CityNews there were reports of the smell of natural gas in the area.
A witness who was driving in the area says he heard the popping sound of an explosion before the fire broke out.
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“The house lit up in flames,” says Lachlan Sandford. “Debris shot across the street and smoke started billowing out of the windows.
“It looks like it spread to the complex next door as well.”
In a post to social media late Thursday, Calgary police said up to 500 houses in the immediate area of the explosion “may have their power and gas shut off or affected.”
However, Enmax says power to the area has mostly been restored. Enmax’s power outage map shows 19 customers without power as of early Friday morning.
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Calgary Transit brought in buses to provide shelter for the displaced residents.
Investigators remain on scene and are working to determine the cause of the fire.
Police say Mahogany Gardens SE is closed in both directions between Mahogany Boulevard and Marine Drive SE. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area.
Listen to 660 NewsRadio for the latest on this developing story.
