By Trelle Burdeniuk

Regina home explosion turns attention to furnace safety

Dec 27, 2010 | 1:20 PM

There is still no word on what caused an explosion at a home in north Regina.

Sunday, the house at 16 Halleran Place was blown off its foundation after someone turned on a dryer. The three people inside escaped serious injury and are currently staying with family.

Albert Headrick, fire marshal with the Regina Fire Department, says no definite cause will be released until a structural engineer assesses the property on Wednesday.

“Once (the house) is ascertained that it is safe to enter, then we're going to have the Regina Police Services, the Regina Fire and Protective Services, Office of the Fire Commissioner, Sask Power, Sask Energy and Gas Inspection Services do a joint inspection of the premises to determine what the actual cause was,” said Headrick.

Now, SaskEnergy is encouraging people to have their furnaces checked out yearly and call if they have any concerns about other natural gas appliances.

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“It is an important piece of equipment. It's like driving a car for 10 years and never, ever having a tune-up. This is a piece of equipment. Its got moving parts and it's very important for the operation of your home,” said Sask Energy's Dave Burdeniuk.

Burdeniuk said Sask Energy receives 20,000 service calls every year for concerns about furnaces and other appliances, but considered that much better than the alternative.

“We would rather respond to 1,000 calls where it turns out it's moldy rags or it's some problem with their sewer and has nothing to do with natural gas then to actually have a small leak and someone not call us,” said Burdeniuk.

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