Damage assessment next after blast knocks out Calgary telecommunications

Firefighters walk to their truck parked outside Calgary's Shaw building on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.

CALGARY -- It was expected to be business as usual in downtown Calgary the day after an explosion at the headquarters of Shaw Communications.

No one was hurt Wednesday when the blast in a 13th floor electrical room brought down Alberta Health Services computers, put three radio stations off the air and even affected some banking services.

A release from the City of Calgary issued late Wednesday evening says streets around the affected building had been reopened.

It says 911 service is still operating normally, but people in the downtown core who have a Shaw landline are experiencing outages and should use a cellphone or a neighbour's phone if they have to make an emergency call.

Alberta Health Services says the blast has not affected patient care, and that its Healthlink phone line is operational.

A backup generator was brought in to provide electricity to the building, but fire Chief Bruce Burrell has said the full scope of the damage can't be assessed until power is fully restored.