Fire investigators are trying to determine what caused a Spruce Grove home to explode Saturday night.
Fire chief Robert Kosterman said crews responded to a fire call around 9 p.m. where they quickly determined the blaze had begun with an explosion.
“It appears the explosion was on one side of the duplex, which again affects both sides of the duplex.”
According to RCMP two men had been tiling the kitchen throughout the day and told authorities there was an odd smell in the home.
“They could smell something but they couldn’t describe the smell,” deputy fire chief John Hynes said.
“That’s our task now, to find out what that was.”
Those sub-contractors were in the home when the basement exploded but were able to escape unharmed.
Kosterman said there were no other structures damaged in the fire.
Neighbours said the explosion sounded like someone dropping something very heavy.
“On the second level it kind of shook a little,” Mark Tozer told CTV News.
“The house shook. I actually thought somebody had driven into the house that's how violent it was,” Danielle Carver explained.
“It is scary to think that can happen right next to you.”
Residents within a one-block radius of the fire were evacuated but were later able to return to their homes.
Hynes said there were 20 fire fighters on the scene until about 2 a.m.
“It took a couple hours to knock this fire down. It was rocking pretty good.”
Officials have not yet determined a damage estimate.
This is the second home explosion around the Capital Region in less than a week.
On Thursday an explosion in a Fort Saskatchewan home left one man dead and two others injured.
Kosterman said he does not believe the incidents to be related.
With files from Amanda Anderson
