WATCH: Viewer submitted video shows flames after St. Boniface explosion
WINNIPEG – A man in his 50s is in critical condition in hospital after an explosion in St. Boniface Monday morning.
Joe St Laurent, the Warehouse Manager at Ken’s Carpets on Archibald Street was badly burned and suffered a broken leg when a shipping storage container exploded.
Residents and nearby businesses could see the thick black smoke and towering flames and felt the explosion from blocks away.
“It sounded like a truck hitting my house. The whole house shook,” said Richard Schade, “all the windows shook, the table shook, pictures shook on the wall.”
Schade ran down the street and captured video of the container on fire.
WATCH: Viewer submitted video shows flames after St. Boniface explosion
The thick black smoke billowing into the sky could be seen from downtown.
“Just like you see in the movies, just boom, just shook the whole building,” said David Jeanson, who works at ABC Fire & Safety, six blocks away.
Fire crews rushed to the scene and quickly extinguished the blaze.
They found St Laurent badly injured.
Staff say St Laurent went to the storage container to get something around 9:30 when they heard and felt the explosion. They say he suffered severe burns and a broken leg.
Investigators don’t know what caused the explosion yet but were seen looking at a propane tank. Staff confirmed there was a barbeque and propane tank stored in the container.
Derek Balcaen, is a Winnipeg Firefighter but was off-duty when he witnessed the explosion. He quickly turned on his fire scanner to hear what had happened.
“It sounded just from the tone of their voice they were very concerned with the victim,” said Balcaen, who was concerned for his colleagues attending the explosion.
“When there’s an explosion and it could wind up being commercial it certainly is scarier because you don’t know what you’re going into, you don’t know if there’s chemicals hiding in there.”
The Arson Strike Force and Workplace Safety and Health are investigating.
WATCH: Smoke rises over St. Boniface
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