Large explosion in Nanaimo destroys vacant house
CBC
A vacant home was destroyed by an explosion that was felt across Nanaimo, B.C., on Sunday night.
RCMP said the area of Pine Street at Fitzwilliam Street was closed to the public following the explosion, which occurred around 8:20 p.m. PT.
In a tweet, RCMP said the home was vacant.
Luke Antrim said he was watching a Netflix documentary after putting his kids to bed when he heard and felt a massive explosion.
"It rumbled our whole house," said Antrim.
He then went to the site of the explosion, which was about 450 metres from his home.
"The house was absolutely obliterated ... something I've never seen before," he said.
FortisBC said crews arrived on scene and found gas was "blowing out" of a damaged meter. They isolated the meter and stopped the leak.
Crews said they would cut off the gas line and cap it off before they leave the scene.
Geoff Whiting, deputy chief with Nanaimo Fire Rescue, said five or six people from the neighbourhood received medical treatment. He did not have any update on their conditions, but didn't believe any of the injuries were serious.
Whiting said the explosion was heard and felt across the city.
"People were asking if it was a meteorite that struck," he said. "It was really quite an explosion — a lot of force behind it."
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