The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Bear River family injured in explosion
A family of four is recovering from an in-home explosion that did a lot of damage in a short amount of time Tuesday evening.
“I've been to explosions before, but this was the first one that I've seen do the amount of damage that it did in such a small house,” said Bear River fire chief David Mccormick.
Mccormick estimates that the small house was roughly 900 square feet.
“All four occupants were burned. It was an extremely hot flash fire caused by vapours,” he said.
The youngest child, under the age of 10, was flown to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax via a Lifeflight helicopter, Mccormick said. The older sibling, under the age of 13, was transported to Digby General Hospital with the parents, he said.
The fire department was dispatched to the scene on Upper River Road shortly before 7 p.m.
“We were called to a stove that exploded,” said Mccormick. “The fire was extinguished by the father before we arrived. He had put it out with a small extinguisher.”
The blast blew out windows and doors, and rearranged appliances in the kitchen.
A neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, felt the ground rumble at a nearby property after hearing glass shatter.
“It was a loud kind of pop,” the neighbour said.
“You could feel it and it kind of shook the house a bit. It almost sounded like a car had just crashed.”
Next came the sirens, emergency service providers and onlookers.
“It was all a big rush,” the neighbour said. “I didn't really know what to do.”
The most substantial structural damage can be seen inside the home, Mccormick said.
“It looks like something blew up.”
Annapolis District RCMP are investigating.