A man was seen crawling from a pile of rubble after an explosion levelled a vacant house in London on Wednesday, leaving him in critical condition.
Multiple 911 calls around 1 p.m. reported an explosion at a house at 131 Base Line Rd., west of Wharncliffe Road, prompting a heavy response from firefighters and police.
Police said a man was found and taken to hospital with critical injuries.
Ryan Mason, who lives across the street at 122 Base Line Rd., was looking out a second-floor window while making lunch when he heard a “boom.”
“One second there was a house, one second there wasn’t,” he said. “There was a gentleman and he crawled out of the rubble. He got up, walked away, went to the neighbouring parking lot and got picked up by paramedics.”
Mason said firefighters and police arrived within about two minutes.
Members of the London police and London Fire Department remained at the scene Wednesday afternoon. The Office of the Fire Marshal has been contacted.
The blast was powerful enough to send glass flying across the street, scattering shards across the front yard of the building opposite.
“We had glass all over our building’s front yard,” Mason said.
Gary Bridge, deputy fire chief with the London Fire Department, said crews arrived shortly after 1 p.m. to find light smoke and visible flames.
“This is a vacant building that is inspected on a monthly basis by fire crews, and the cause of this fire is currently under investigation,” Bridge said Wednesday afternoon.
London police Insp. Doug Brown said police and the London Fire Department were working to determine which agency would lead the investigation.
He said it was unclear whether the person taken to hospital was inside or outside the building when the blast occurred.
“Out of the million things I could think about in a day, I did not think that was going to happen,” Mason said.
Mason, who has lived in the building for more than a year, said the property had been vacant for about a month and that there had been “very heavy” homeless activity in the area.
“I see it every day every time I go home,” Mason said, adding he believes someone experiencing homelessness gained access to the property.
Asif Sheikh, who has owned 131 Base Line Rd. for about two years, said he got a call from a police detective about the explosion.
“It was crazy,” he said.
Sheikh said a tenant had vacated the house about a month ago.
“Nobody was supposed to be there,” he said. “Somebody broke in, and they were doing whatever they were doing, and all this mess.”
He also owns neighbouring plots at 129, where a house was demolished last year, and 130, an empty lot. Sheikh said he has had “regular issues” with homeless people camping on the properties and in a detached garage at 131 Base Line Rd.
“We’re not going to fix it or anything. I mean, ultimately this was supposed to be taken down,” he said.
A sign on the property indicated an application had been made to city hall to rezone the land for a possible apartment building.
In 2023, city staff recommended a zoning bylaw amendment to allow the construction of a 14-storey apartment building at 129-131 Base Line Rd. The proposed 176-unit high-rise by Royal Premier Homes would include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units and 194 parking spaces, nearly all underground.
Royal Premier Homes could not be reached for comment.
Steven O’Reilly was walking past the property with his friend Jennifer Bigg and their two dogs when the explosion happened.
“I was just walking past . . . and I just saw it out of the corner of my eye. The house just exploded,” said O’Reilly, who had blood running down his legs.
“It was just planks of wood and stuff launched out on the street. A lot of glass, and that’s probably why my legs are hurt.”
O’Reilly described the experience minutes after the blast.
“The whole thing just exploded in front of us. It was like the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. So we just kind of stepped back and we’ve just been here since then. It’s just scary, to be honest. I’m a little bit shaky.”
Bigg said she was uninjured.
“It was just crazy. I’m still kind of shaken up.”
Sahar Kadhem, who lives nearby, said she was in her bedroom shortly after 1 p.m. when she heard the explosion.
“It was like a bomb,” she said. “I was scared and I came outside immediately. I saw all my neighbours coming in the direction and saw it.”
Base Line Road West will remain closed in both directions near the intersection of Base Line Road West and Cotswold Gate.