A quiet Vancouver Island city was rocked by a loud explosion heard throughout the city on Sunday night.
Nanaimo RCMP said in a release that around 8:20 pm, a home that police believe was vacant after the last tenants were evicted at the end of January was destroyed by a “massive explosion.”
The home, on the 300 block of Pine Street by the St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church was “reduced to ruble”
According to RCMP, both police and fire services were on the scene within minutes.
“Upon arrival, attending officers detected a strong odour (of) natural gas coming from the debris,” said police.
They reached out to Fortis, who dispatched a technician to the area. Crews including BC Ambulance Service, police, BC Hydro, Fortis, and Fire remained on scene for most of the night, securing the debris field to await investigators in the morning who will now work to determine the cause of the explosion.
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Videos and photos posted to social media show the extent of the damage as well as how audible the explosion was nearby.
@mraylenemanson Apparently a house explosion felt across the city. Video recorded by F. Janko #explosion #nanaimo #surprise ♬ original sound – Island Life & Adventures
Found another angle from doorbell Camera. #Nanaimo pic.twitter.com/nVWdndhasb
— Luke Antrim / GreenLantrim 🚀 (@Lukeantrim) February 28, 2022
#Nanaimo – Natural Gas Explosion shook our house about 1000 metres away. pic.twitter.com/FyFZtPxGga
— Luke Antrim / GreenLantrim 🚀 (@Lukeantrim) February 28, 2022
My security camera footage of the double flash from a #NaturalGas #Explosion that destroyed a house in #Nanaimo
First explosion at 8:19:47 followed by a second larger one at 8:19:50#FortisGas pic.twitter.com/LYse8offzb— Kam Abbott (@Kam_Abbott) February 28, 2022
RCMP say that the explosion knocked down a power line and interrupted phone service for approximately 20 minutes to the local RCMP detachment.
Although no one was located in the debris field, Police said a neighbouring home sustained significant damage from the blast.
Two people inside were taken to Nanaimo for treatment after being struck by broken glass.
BC Emergency Health Services told Daily Hive that “Two patients were transported to hospital with minor injuries and four patients were treated by paramedics at the scene for minor injuries.”
Nanaimo Fire Rescue told Daily Hive that there were multiple reports from throughout the city, some suggesting the explosion was a car going into a house.
“When our crews arrived on scene, they found a house that had been completely destroyed by an explosion,” Deputy Chief Geoff Whiting said.
“There was no fire aside from some smoking debris. Crews secured the scene with assistance from RCMP and searched the rubble and surrounding area with nothing found,” he said, adding that no cause has been determined at this point.
Fortis BC said that it was made aware of the explosion and dispatched a technician at the request of first responders.
The natural gas provider said that there’s no confirmation on the cause of the incident yet, but said that the “explosion did result in damage to the natural gas meter and gas blowing from it.”
Now, Nanaimo RCMP are looking for more information on the incident and asking the public to come forward if they know something.