House explodes in north Edmonton

Fire crews were on scene near 120 Avenue and 102 Street Monday morning, where it was reported a house exploded.

Edmonton firefighters were at the scene of a house fire and explosion late Monday morning.

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said it received multiple calls about the incident, at 120 Avenue and 102 Street, around 11:35 a.m.

When the first of five crews arrived, EFRS members found a fully involved fire and blown-off doors.

EFRS said it was not aware of anyone being in the home and that there were no reported injuries.

Hope Robinson-Smyke, who lives two doors down, said the explosion was so loud she first thought a vehicle had driven in to her own home.

“I was just in the kitchen making some food, heard a huge bang,” she recalled. “Went outside and discovered the front door had blown off the house and it was in flames.”

The neighbour said when fire crews arrived, “the entire house was up in flames, smoke everywhere.”

EFRS said it did not know what caused the explosion.

“In a contained building, any sort of explosion will be powerful enough to blow off a door, so we can’t really speculate on what exactly the cause is,” said Tim Famulak, an EFRS district chief on scene.

Investigators were working to determine what happened.