'Heroes' lauded for helping 5 workers injured in explosion at Red Deer bus depot

When an explosion rattled downtown Red Deer on Thursday afternoon, injuring five workers at a bus depot, some of the city's most vulnerable residents were the first on the scene.

Perry Goddard, executive director at Safe Harbour Society, said eight men and women who rely on the society's emergency shelter rushed in to help within seconds of the blast. 

Goddard said his clients and staff were instrumental in rescuing the workers who were caught in the explosion and the fire that followed. 

"These are really the heroes of our community," he said. "They were pulling out men from the building who were physically on fire." 

RCMP and workplace safety officials continue to investigate the explosion and the subsequent fire that broke out around 3:20 p.m. inside the Prairie Bus Lines terminal building at 53rd Avenue and 54th Street.

Five people were taken from the scene to hospital, two in critical condition, two others in serious but stable condition. A fifth person taken to hospital has since been released.

Safe Harbour Society operates an emergency shelter steps away from the bus terminal. Goddard said the explosion was so violent, his workers thought that a vehicle had struck their building.

By the time society staff stepped outside to see the bus terminal building in flames, a handful of clients had already made their way across the street, Goddard said. 

"It was a very large explosion within the bus terminal," he said. "The staff looked out the window and the first thing they saw was eight of our guests, individuals who use the shelter, running to help." 

He said one of the men providing help at the scene was living under a tarp on the side of the street. He used the sheet of plastic to provide warmth to the injured. Others used their own blankets to keep the workers warm.

Another man rushed into the burning building, Goddard said. 

"He started pulling out individuals who were in there," Goddard said in an interview with CBC News Friday.

"We've learned since, that prior to him experiencing homelessness, he was a firefighter."

Goddard said medical staff from Safe Harbour and workers from the nearby Recovery Alberta facility soon rushed to the scene to assist the injured until paramedics arrived.