There was property damage but no injuries when a shower of rock from a Kearney Lake, N.S., quarry soared more than a kilometre across a highway and hit a Clayton Park apartment building.

Dyno Nobel, an industrial and mining explosives company, was blasting at the Gateway Materials quarry on Crusher Road when rocks flew over the Bicentennial Highway and sprayed 390 Parkland Arms.

The incident occurred at 2 p.m. Monday, Labour Department spokeswoman Lisa Jarrett confirmed. She said there were no injuries.

"A stop-work order was issued and an investigation is underway," Jarrett said.

Rocks penetrated building

Two residents at the building Thursday said there was a sound like an explosion, followed by a shower or cloud of rocks.

Some residents at 390 Parkland Arms said they heard what sounded like an explosion Monday afternoon when rocks from blasting at a nearby quarry hit their building. (Brett Ruskin/CBC) Some hit the back of the building facing the highway, shattering at least one window, one person said.

Many rocks landed on the roof.

The largest rock hit the front of the building, penetrating shingles, insulation, wood frame and severing a sprinkler pipe, which then flooded three top-floor units, a resident said.

Severed sprinkler pipe

Scott Stevens, president of Gateway Materials, confirmed the incident and noted a damaged sprinkler.

A shower of rocks penetrated the roof at 390 Parkland Arms on Monday after a blast at a quarry more than a kilometre away. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)

He said Dyno Nobel is the company's blasting contractor.

"There's stop-work order on performing any blasting activities or drilling activities so those are all shut down, but we would still be shipping finished product," said Stevens.

The dynamiting company and Gateway are conducting their own investigations into the incident as well as the Labour Department, he said.

Not the first time

Thirteen years ago, a nearly identical incident occurred that involved Gateway and Dyno Nobel. A detonation at the Kearney Lake quarry caused rocks to be thrown over the highway and into several apartments. Again, no one was injured although there was property damage.

The Labour Department issued a stop-work order to the companies on Aug. 14, 2003, and it was lifted a little over two months later.

The director of the occupational health and safety division said at the time that the department handed down orders to develop a code of practice for blasting at the site and the companies had complied with it.