

Chris Fox, CP24.com





Officials say that residents of more than a dozen properties that were evacuated in the wake of a deadly explosion in Kitchener may not be able to return home for up to three days.

The explosion leveled a house on Sprucedale Crescent shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, sending debris flying across the neighbourhood.

One woman was killed in the explosion and a man sustained critical injuries.

At a briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Kitchener Fire Chief Jon Rehill said a total of 16 area homes have since been evacuated “to ensure the safety” of residents as crews continue to put out hot spots.

He said that while most of the displaced residents will be able to return home within three days, the occupants of two homes that are immediately next to the blast site may not be as lucky.

Those properties, he said, sustained significant damage as a result of the explosion.

Officials with the Red Cross are on scene and are working to find accommodations for displaced residents.

“There are two that people will not be able to get back into for a long period of time,” Rehill said.

IN PHOTOS: Home explosion in Kitchener

Rehill said that while there is “no threat” to neighbouring residences at this point, flames are still present beneath some of the rubble, preventing investigators from accessing the site for now.

Investigators with the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal have also been called in but the fire chief said they may not be able to begin their formal examination of the scene for at least a day.

At the peak of the emergency response, there were about 32 firefighters on scene.

“The fire department is still managing hot spots and this remains an emergency scene,” Rehill said.

Victims found in backyard

Both victims in the explosion were found in the backyard area of the home amid the rubble.

A dog was also found deceased at the scene.

While there were initially reports that there may have been additional people inside the home; officials now say that they believe they have everyone accounted for.

The cause of the explosion, meanwhile, remains unclear.

“We are currently undergoing a death investigation as we would in any circumstance where someone has died. It is premature to call it anything more than a death investigation at this point,” Kevin Chalk, deputy police chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday morning. “We haven’t been able to get to the scene for obvious reasons, it is still unsafe to do so, and the coroner has yet to arrive to examine the deceased person. At this point it is simply an investigation and we are somewhat hampered by the fact that we can’t actually get to the scene to do any sort of investigation other than peripheral.”

Chalk said that police have not had any previous dealings with the residence where the explosion occurred.

He said that for now “all options” remain open with regards to what exactly transpired.

“There could be a number of reasons for it. Some of them would be criminal and some of them would not be," he said.

Rehill said that natural gas and hydro have been shut off to all properties along the street in the wake of the explosion.

He said that while there is no precise estimate for the total value of damages from the explosion, it will likely end up in “the millions of dollars.”