Many residents in southeast Calgary and surrounding areas were awakened by an explosion at a rural property outside the city Thursday morning. Reports from viewers indicate the incident in Foothills County, near Okotoks, began shortly after 7:10 a.m. Those included photos and video of a fire at a rural property near Heritage Heights School. The Calgary Fire Department said a crew was dispatched from the Seton fire station, the closest one in Calgary, to investigate. “They confirmed the fire is outside of the city so we were cancelled,” said CFD public information officer Alex Kwan in an email to CTV News, who confirmed the Foothills County fire department responded. “They’re on scene and do not require our assistance at this time,” he said. RCMP said the occupants of the home were an older couple and were taken into hospital as a precaution. “The occupants of the home, two occupants were able to get out of the home safely, and they’re with the AHS care,” Foothills fire chief Alex Marshall added. He said crews managed to isolate the gas metre gong into the house, and ATCO and Fortis Alberta attended the scene to isolate the utilities so fire crews could work safely. Marshall added there were more than 10 trucks and 30 firefighters on scene. “Today is about a 20-minute drive to get water and get back to scene,” he said. “So, it’s always an issue in rural, rural firefighting, but, nothing unexpected with today.” Marshall says the explosion is not currently deemed to have been suspicious. Officials have not yet confirmed its cause. ‘Absolutely frightening’ Ron Tarrant, who lives in Heritage Pointe, a community in Foothills County, told CTV News on Thursday that he was awoken by the explosion. “I was literally thrown out of bed by what felt like a bomb going off by our house, so I jumped in the car and realized that a house half a mile away from us had just completely exploded.” Wendy Jones, who lives kitty-corner to the home that exploded, also described the scene. “Flames were tall, but they kept exploding,” Jones said. “They kept going off, and then they would settle and then they would go off again. And it was absolutely frightening.” Jones says she heard at least half a dozen explosions but one very large one engulfed the home. “It was a boom and a shake,” she said. “I’m still shaking. I haven’t stopped.” Kari Gianakos lives near the home that exploded and says she felt a large thud when driving back from the gym. “I actually thought we might have run over a cat or something. It felt like our back wheels on our truck came up,” she said. “I’m so glad the kids were not on the way to school or that they were in school, and they didn’t see anything terrible or anything bad happen to them.” School closed Thursday Administrators of Heritage Heights School, located close to the fire scene, said the facility would be closed for the day “out of an abundance of caution.” All students who arrived at the building via bus were taken to École Percy Pegler in Okotoks, staff said. “Parents can pick up their students from École Percy Pegler when able during the school day. The school staff can be contacted by phone at (403) 938-4449,” Heritage Heights School said on its website. “We will provide updates when we are able.”
