Canadian homes evacuated after pipeline fire southeast of Emerson

EMERSON – Residents in two homes in Emerson, MB were evacuated after a natural gas pipeline explosion filled the sky with flames Saturday night.

The explosion happened in the St. Vincent Compressor station in Kittson County, Minnesota. Volunteer firefighters from Emerson were called to the scene just one kilometer south of the border.

Crews were called to the fire around 9:00 p.m., residents of the two homes that were evacuated were allowed to return by 11:00p.m. TransCanada Pipelines said in a statement that the fire was completely extinguished by 1:10 a.m. The facility has been shut down and the pipeline has been isolated ensuring that no more gas is flowing to the station. At this time, there are no gas service interruptions to customers.

TransCanada Pipeline said there are no reported injuries and cause of the explosion is still under investigation.