'Sounded like a bomb': Mahogany residents stunned by townhouse explosion, fire

Searching for the cause of Mahogany blast, blaze Investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of an explosion and fire in the southeast Calgary community of Mahogany.

Investigators are working to piece together what caused an explosion and fire at a six-plex in the southeast Calgary community of Mahogany.

Multiple calls were made to 911 around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday.

Upon arrival to the area of 167 Mahogany Gardens S.E., crews discovered a row of eight connected townhouses on fire, with one of the homes destroyed.

The unit that collapsed was not occupied.

During the ordeal and the battle to contain it, four people were injured, including two civilians and two firefighters.

One of the civilians was taken to South Calgary Urgent Care in stable condition.

The other three people were assessed and treated at the scene.

Several residents in the area told CTV News they had smelled gas for the better part of the afternoon prior to the explosion.

"It sounded like a bomb. ... We heard and we really felt it," said Keri van Dongen, who lives across the street.

"So, I called 911 and I was told they had already been called, but I said it's not just a fire. Like, you're going to need dozens of fire trucks. Like, it's some kind of an explosion."

Because of the proximity of the fire to other homes and how volatile the situation was, neighbouring homes were evacuated, and transit buses were brought in to keep people warm.

Scott Cowan, battalion chief with the Calgary Fire Department, says all 50 townhouses in the area were evacuated and residents were displaced Thursday night.

"There was a natural gas line that had broken off and was on fire from the explosion, so it was being fed by the natural gas," Cowan said.

"Once we got that shut off, it had to bleed down, so the fire was burning for quite some time.

"The unit that collapsed, obviously, we can't get inside that one at all. The other units, crews did go inside to make sure they were evacuated. Crews definitely were risking themselves by going in there, but they were doing it for the sake of the citizens inside."

Cowan said some could return Friday but expects four or five units will be "uninhabitable"—and other residents will be impacted for a much longer period.

Asim Zaz was among the residents displaced.

His home was a few doors down from the explosion and thankfully wasn't damaged, but it was a major shock.

He had just purchased his first ever townhouse and moved in 16 days ago.

"We were so excited; some of the furniture was expected to come over here Thursday, but I was just staying in my room, and all of a sudden, this thing happened," he said.

"I heard a big blast outside. It was a very scary situation. My mom was upstairs, sitting in her room, and she came downstairs and she was so frightened."

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Anyone with video or photos of the incident is asked to email the Calgary Fire Department at [e-mail].

Due to the incident, ATCO turned off natural gas to about 400 customers Thursday afternoon, but restored service by 7 p.m. to the majority of those impacted.

ATCO crews were also on site to assist with the relighting of natural gas appliances.

All units passed inspections: Jayman Homes

The area in which the explosion took place occurred at a townhouse complex called Park Place of Lake Mahogany, which was constructed and developed by Jayman Homes.

Larry Noer, the chief operating officer of the company, says 19 units where the fire occurred had been purchased and had people living in them.

It's unclear how many people were home at the time of the explosion, but the building that collapsed was not occupied.

Noer says it's a new build, with 50 units on the side where the fire occurred and another 50 on the other side.

"There are multiples of four and five units joined together, hence the multi-family piece, and they're all joined with proper firewalls and proper inspections, and all have met and passed the building code and inspections," he said.

Noer says all the residents displaced were safely evacuated to a nearby hotel and will receive accommodations until it is deemed safe to return.

"Our first priority is to make sure everybody is safe. ... We will be following the protocol that we have when there's an emergency of this sort and making sure everyone is safe," he said.

"Once we are able to determine the extent of the damage, that'll be that. Damage will be removed and the site will be rebuilt in accordance with architects, engineers and the City of Calgary regulations."