Regina’s fire department began investigating what it called a “major explosion” on Sunday, posting a photo on social media showing a severely damaged home that appeared to have been lifted off its foundation.
The department issued a tweet late Sunday morning saying the blast happened at the corner of 6th Avenue and Retallack Street, and police and emergency services were also at the scene.
The tweet said possible injuries were reported, but the department tweeted an update late in the afternoon saying the injuries were minor.
Multiple structures suffered extensive damage, the update said, but noted nearby residents have been allowed to return home.
Police asked people to keep away and traffic remains restricted in the area.
Fire investigators remained at the scene.
Darlene Shepherd, who lives about two blocks away, said she was in bed when she heard a blast that “rocked the whole neighbourhood.” Her nephew, Hawk Obey, was in the house, too, watching TV and they both looked at each other and wondered what had happened.
“I thought it was a car banging into a building but it was so, so powerful,” Shepherd said, adding she heard sirens converge on the neighbourhood from every direction in the moments afterward.
“Everybody down the block came out and asked each other, ‘What was that?'” Obey added.
Obey said the block around the explosion site was quickly sealed off by police, so he wasn’t able to see any of the damage.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority said in an email that no one was transported to hospital in connection with the explosion.
No one with the city’s police department could be reached for comment.
A number of people on social media have said they heard and felt the explosion in other parts of the city.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2022.
The Canadian Press
