House explosion in Regina caused by natural gas leak: Fire department

A compromised natural gas line was found to be the cause of the house explosion that rocked a central Regina neighbourhood on Sunday.

Regina Fire & Protective Services (RFPS) released an updated statement at around 4 p.m. on Monday, outlining the findings of its investigation.

“Fire investigators located a gas line within the property that had been compromised and determined this explosion was related to natural gas,” the statement read.

“A thorough investigation has determined that the property is all clear and no victims were located.”

An ignition source was not found due to the extent of the damage to the residential building, RFPS said. The investigation has been turned over to Regina Police Service (RPS) for follow up.

As of Monday evening, the site of the explosion remains fenced off. An apartment building beside the residence that exploded suffered severe damages in the blast and will be demolished, RFPS said.

Firefighters, EMS and RPS units responded to the scene of an explosion at a residence in the area of 6th Avenue and Retallack Street just before 11 a.m. Sunday. Crews described the blast, that completely destroyed a residential building, as a “major explosion.”

Some windows around the area were damaged as a result of the explosion. Regina Fire worked to board up any houses that had damaged windows.

The one person injured in the incident, four properties away from the explosion, had minor glass abrasions due to a broken window.

Regina Fire worked with SaskEnergy to get the property’s gas lines turned off. Regina police also assisted evacuating some properties nearby.

Residents within one block of the explosion were forced to vacate their homes as emergency crews continued their work. Unaffected residents were able to return to their homes on Sunday evening.

A city transit warming bus was brought in to assist any residents who were evacuated. Two residents, from the neighbouring apartment building, were displaced.

Hewitt said the Regina Police Service’s bomb squad was called in to assist with the investigation due to their knowledge and experience with explosive incidents.

'I THOUGHT MY HOUSE BLEW UP'

For residents in the neighbourhood, the ordeal was a brutal interruption to a peaceful Sunday morning.

"I felt and heard it. Everything in my house, I thought my house blew up,” resident Nelson Mantee told CTV News. “I thought my neighbours blew up."

A resident in the area, who wished to remain anonymous, told CTV News she felt her entire house shake at the moment of the explosion.

"We thought the building, the whole building collapsed,” another resident said.

“It was not only shaking, it boomed."

Houses surrounding the blast site experienced extreme damage from the explosion, leaving residents of the neighbourhood shaken hours after the blast.

"It's shock still and [I’m] lucky, I always walk by here and I was on my way just to walk by,” Mantee said.

“I'm still reeling about it thinking about it, looking at this place being like, wow."

With files from CTV News Regina's David Prisciak and Brianne Foley