Explosion that destroyed 2 homes in Virden, Man., caused by ruptured gas line

A ruptured gas line is to blame for an explosion Friday morning that destroyed two homes in Virden, Man., and sent one of the homeowners to hospital.

The explosion happened just after 9 a.m. in a house on Thompson Place, a small cul de sac in the town, about 80 kilometres west of Brandon.

RCMP say officers found the house fully engulfed in flames, and the house next door also caught fire and was totally destroyed.

Heather Reimer, a reporter with CJ103 radio in Virden, spoke with people at the scene who described feeling the blast.

"They lived clear on the other end of town and they said their windows and doors shook," she told CBC News.

"I also spoke to a lady that happened to be cleaning house on the same cul de sac and she said the explosion almost knocked her off her feet it was so powerful."

Reimer said the fire was well under control by 11 a.m. The house where it started has been flattened and the home next door is badly damaged, she said.

RCMP say firefighters pulled the male homeowner from the house where the explosion happened. He was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

A firefighter who was involved in rescuing the man was taken to hospital as a precaution, and two RCMP officers were treated at the scene for minor injuries and released, according to police.

The provincial Office of the Fire Commissioner says a gas line was ruptured as a result of work that was being done outside one of the homes.

Natural gas then filtered into the home and was likely ignited by a pilot light, a spokesperson told CBC News.

The fire commissioner's office is reminding people who are having work done on or around their properties to call local utilities before they dig.