Two men have been charged with production of a controlled substance and arson after a lengthy investigation by Airdrie RCMP and the Airdrie Fire Department (AFD) into an explosion at a home on Kings Heights Rd. on Jan. 31.
Trevor Urquhart, 27, of Airdrie and Matthew Visser, 29, of St. Albert will be in Airdrie Provincial Court on Sept. 18 to enter pleas. Neither is currently in custody.
The explosion sent both men to hospital in Calgary in critical condition with burns to over 70 per cent of their bodies.
RCMP Media Liaison Constable Jason Curtis said both have since been released from the hospital.
Airdrie RCMP and the AFD responded to the explosion at 1080 King’s Heights Rd. at 10:30 p.m.
Fire crews concluded the explosion occurred in one side of the two-storey residential duplex.
Curtis said the investigation determined that Urquhart and Visser were in the process of manufacturing a controlled substance at the time of the explosion. He was not able to identify the type of drug involved, as the investigation is ongoing.
The arson charge was added as a result of the initial charge of manufacturing a controlled substance, according to Curtis.
“If you’re cooking up a controlled substance and you explode your house, you’re still liable for that,” he said.
.
