A house on the 500 block of 5th Street East caught fire and reportely "exploded," according to several residents in the area. Submitted photo/Charles Robichaud

By Jeff D’Andrea

House fire

Midtown residents hear “explosion” prior to house fire

Mar 20, 2021 | 2:32 PM

According to residents in Prince Albert’s midtown area, a house in the 500 block of 5^th St. E “exploded” and caught fire on Saturday afternoon.

One resident who was walking their dog at the time, posted on a Facebook neighbourhood watch page that they heard “an explosion and several popping sounds then saw a bunch of black smoke.”

Other residents near the house say they felt their own homes shake due to the blast. Fire, police and ambulance crews all attended the scene.

According to a statement Saturday afternoon from Parkland Ambulance, no injuries were reported, but it is not known if anyone was home at the time of the incident.

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Later Saturday night, Prince Albert Fire Department confirmed the single family bungalow was found fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived at 1:38p.m. It was found that an explosion had blown the building off the foundation and then ignited.

A pipe with natural gas leaking was allowed to burn for several hours until SaskEnergy crews arrived and could shut off the line. The cause of the explosion is currently under investigation.

Homes within a one block radius were evacuated due to the incident.

**Details from the Prince Albert Fire Dept.were added at 11:30p.m Saturday.

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow