Burlington home levelled in early Friday morning explosion, investigation ongoing

It’s day two of the investigation into a suspicious fire that happened early Friday morning in Aldershot.

Engineers and investigators from the Office of the Fire Marshal were on scene combing through debris from what is now being deemed an explosion.

The Office of the Fire Marshal confirmed the occupants of the home were not inside at the time of the blaze, but it did level the home and do significant damage to the neighbouring structure.

On Friday morning at 3 a.m., police and fire crews responded to reports of a large fire at the home on Clearview Avenue. Officials confirm significant damage was caused to the residence next door before being brought under control.

“We do know that there was a house explosion. We do have Ontario fire marshal investigators on scene along with Burlington fire. They will be combing through the evidence and the debris to find the origin and cause of the circumstance,” said Jim Demetriou, spokesperson from the Office of the Fire Marshal.

Residents in the neighbourhood are concerned this happened so close to home.

READ MORE: Halton police investigating suspicious house fire in Burlington

CHCH News spoke to a witness who did not want to appear on camera who saw a black truck leave the home about 20 minutes before the explosion occurred. This truck, they say, has been at the home before. The fire marshal confirms this piece of information will be included in the investigation.

The Burlington Fire Department called in the Office of the Fire Marshal for two reasons: There was an explosion and the damage exceeded $500,000.

“We’ve seen housefires in the Aldershot area and certainly in my ward and throughout Burlington, but houses exploding is rare,” said Kelvin Galbraith, Burlington Ward 1 councillor.

Galbraith lives near the levelled home. He says it’s concerning to see this happen in the neighbourhood.

“My wife was woken up just before 3 a.m. from the blast. She thought it was thunder,” said Galbraith.

Shortly after, authorities arrived at their door asking them to prepare to evacuate.

“So I asked him what for, and he said there’s a fire in your backyard, look, and he pointed. I looked out my back window and sure enough, the flames were higher than this house here. They were 40 feet in the air,” said Galbraith.

CHCH News reached out to Halton police detectives associated with this case, they tell us they are waiting for the Office of the Fire Marshal to issue its final report before moving forward.

READ MORE: Woman seriously injured, Georgetown, Ont. teen arrested in shooting