Massive explosion rips apart Ontario home, sending fire raining down on neighbors

A drunk driver has been accused of driving into a home in London, Ontario and rupturing a major gas line which caused an explosion that completely ripped the house apart and sent fire raining down on neighbors.   

Daniella Alexandria Leis, 23, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada was charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm and driving above the legal limit Wednesday night, according to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation.

Authorities said Leis was driving the wrong way on a residential road before she crashed her vehicle into a house on Woodman Avenue near Queens Avenue in the Canadian city.

A shot of the Woodman Ave  home near Queens Ave in London, Ontario before the devastating explosion

Around 15 minutes after the crash, an explosion rocked the neighborhood, completely destroying the Woodman Ave home, leaving little more than charred rubble – thankfully, no-one was inside the home at the time

Police arrived and arrested Leis around 10.40pm. They were on scene about 15 minutes when the house she crashed into suddenly exploded.

Investigators said a ruptured gas line at the residence caused the blast, which obliterated the dwelling and damaged an additional seven houses. 

The shockwave shook the neighborhood and was felt by people inside homes that were multiple blocks away.

The sound from the blast was heard across a large portion of the city. 

Acting Deputy Fire Chief Jack Burt told CBC: ‘In my 20 years in the fire service, I’ve never seen an event of this nature. We also have a significant debris field from an explosion that actually goes over more than a block area at this point.’ 

Firefighters battled the neighborhood blaze until the early hours of Thursday morning – at least four firefighters were injured and hospitalized during the ordeal

The amount of debris was significant, with one witness – Krystina Curtis – telling CBC: ‘We watched the roof fly higher than the trees on the street’. She said debris was ‘everywhere and windows are shattered’ 

‘There’s debris everywhere, windows are shattered,’ witness Krystina Curtis told CBC. ‘We watched the roof fly higher than the trees on the street. The sound was extremely loud. You could feel the explosion go right through you.’

An estimated 100 homes on Quebec Street, Woodman Avenue and Charlotte Street, between Lorne Avenue and Dundas Street were evacuated as local fire fighters battled blazes at multiple structures throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

All the fires were out by 10am Thursday, authorities said. 

‘In my 20 years in the fire service, I’ve never seen an event of this nature,’ Acting Deputy Fire Chief Jack Burt told CBC. ‘We also have a significant debris field from an explosion that actually goes over more than a block area at this point.’

An estimated 100 homes were evacuated as local fire fighters battled blazes at multiple structures throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. The explosion rocked the neighborhood, and was felt by people inside homes that were multiple blocks away

At least four firefighters were injured and hospitalized during the ordeal. One is still in the hospital in serious, but stable condition. The other three have since been released.

Two police officers and a civilian also were hospitalized, but have since been released. 

Neighbors served water and coffee to evacuees and offered them a place to stay for the night.

‘These are our friends and neighbors, so I think people are scared right now,’ local resident Joanne Bishop said.

City officials booked hotel rooms for dozens of families that were evacuated. All but 12 of the evacuated homes were deemed safe by Thursday night.

Leis is scheduled to appear in court on September 4.