Townhouse explosion in southeast Calgary displaces several residents

Several people have been displaced from their homes after an explosion and fire in the southeast Calgary neighbourhood of Mahogany on Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to the 600 block of Mahogany Road S.E., around 3:15 p.m. MT. On arrival, crews found a townhouse had collapsed and was fully engulfed in flames, the Calgary Fire Department (CFD)said in a statement.

Multiple neighbouring buildings were also heavily impacted.

"It was the end unit that exploded and collapsed," said battalion Chief Scott Cowan.

"Then the unit beside that, we've substantially had to demolish because it was so damaged that it was posing a hazard."

He said all50 townhouseswere evacuated and residents were displaced Thursday night.

Cowansaid some could return Friday, but expects four or five units will be "uninhabitable" and other residents will be impacted for a much longer period of time.

Four people, including two firefighters, were treated for minor injuries.

The fire department is investigating the incident. Crews remained on scene Thursday night to monitor any hotspots.