An explosion that caused a home to burst into flames in Bearspaw on Township Road 262 west of Glendale Road Aug. 21 was caused by a gas leak, according to Rocky View County Fire Services (RVCFS) District Chief Dax Huba.
An investigation on Aug. 24 by the fire bureau and insurance company has since confirmed a gas leak is likely responsible.
“From RVCFS’ standpoint, we do not believe this fire is malicious or arsonistic in anyway,” Huba said. “It looks to be a gas leak from an undetermined source. We do know it was a natural gas leak. Because of the cold day, a pilot light from a furnace or fireplace clicked on and that’s what ignited the gas.”
Huba said crews arrived to find the home fully-engulfed in flames but were able to get the fire under control quickly.
“Just before 8 p.m., fire crews from Bearspaw were called to a possible explosion, later confirmed by a neighbour or someone else who heard it, of a house on fire,” Huba said. “First crews arrived on scene in under 10 minutes.”
Crews and equipment from Cochrane, Bearspaw, Springbank and Balzac fire stations attended, including 16 firefighters at the height of the incident.
The explosion blew the roof off the home and sent debris from two picture windows on the east and west sides of the building flying, according to Huba.
“There was glass and soffit and fascia and all sorts of stuff about 100 feet in either direction,” Huba said.
“It was dangerous and we had to make a defensive attack. We weren’t putting crews into the building. We didn’t want to risk any lives because the building had exploded and we weren’t sure why.”
There was no one home – including no pets – at the time of the explosion and fire. According to Huba, the residents had recently moved into Calgary and the home was vacant.
The building was a complete loss, including the home and an attached garage. Huba said the damage for the building alone is estimated at approximately $500,000.
Firefighters left at approximately 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 22 but Bearspaw crews returned at 7 a.m. to check the scene and take photos, according to Huba.
“We did have security over the whole weekend to watch the scene under the advisement of RCMP as they were investigating the nature of the explosion,” he said. “We went back Monday (Aug. 24) and the findings were non-malicious and we released the security.”
