Canmore house explosion scatters debris around neighbourhood

An explosion shook the Alberta mountain town of Canmore, blowing up an unoccupied home, scattering debris on the streets and leaving several people with minor injuries.

The large boom and a plume of smoke startled residentsat about 5p.m. MT Friday.

People were coming up and helping, doing anything they could.- Nicolas Gouin

"There was a huge explosion, pretty much a mushroom cloud with debris," saidNicolas Gouin,who ran towardthe explosion to help. "For blocks we were finding debris."

When he arrived, he tried to calm the neighbours who had come out of their shaken homes, including an elderly woman. "She [was]more traumatized than anything, I think.Just pretty shocked.And there was justa little bit of blood down the forehead, just from debris and stuff."

Utility workers accounted for

A town official saidthe explosionhappened next to a construction site by a seniors' home at Fairholme Drive and 13th Street.

It's not yet knownwhat caused the explosion, but utility workers were doing work in the area at the time. All of those workers are accounted for, say RCMP.

The home, which was empty, was reduced to a pile of rubble. A second home was also badly damaged, with even more houses in the neighbourhoodexperiencing minordamage.The streets and even rooftops were strewn with debris.

Some people in the neighbourhood had minor injuries, police said.

Residents helped put out flames

Neighboursrushed to help put out the flames, said Gouin.

"We were trying to get hoses and any extinguishers we could get our hands on to try and put out flames and stuff before emergency vehicles showed up," hesaid.

"People were coming up and helping, doing anything they could."

Emergency Medical Services spokesmanAdam Loria said three people weretransported tohospital in stable condition with non life-threatening injuries.

"Paramedic crews are currently on scene caring for a number of residents from the nearby Bow River Senior Citizens Lodge, not as a result of being injured, but more so for the fact of them being temporarily displaced from their residence."

RCMPestimate about 40 people had minor scrapes and cuts from flying glass and debris.