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By Justine Kelsie

UPDATE: Garage door blown off building in morning explosion

Nov 28, 2017 | 11:59 AM

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated the explosion occurred ‘inside a tank of an oilfield cleaning truck.’ According to the County of Grande Prairie, it actually occurred inside a storage unit within a building. This story version has been changed to reflect the needed revision.

 

Fire crews responded to an explosion just northeast of Grande Prairie late this morning.

Dunes, Clairmont, and Sexsmith firefighters were called in around 11:30 a.m. to reports of an explosion at an oilfield cleaning company about a kilometre off Highway 43 on Range Road 53.

County Deputy Fire Chief Bart Johnson explains that there was an explosion inside a storage unit, used for cleaning oilfield fluids, within a building.

“There was no real evidence of a fire. There was certainly an explosion of some type. We believe there were some flammable vapors inside of the tank that ignited. The lid of the tank blew off which caused a pressure wave. It also did some damage to the building. It blew the garage door off,” said Johnson

Staff in the buildings were cleared upon arrival, but crews remain on scene to investigate the cause of the explosion.

There were no injuries reported.

by Justine Kelsie