Officials investigate explosion that destroyed a home in the Village of Bath

A home on Somerset Avenue in the Village of Bath has been completely destroyed following an early morning explosion.

Firefighters from Bath and Amherstview fire stations were called to the scene just after 4 a.m. Tuesday.

The home was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived and a portion of the roof had already collapsed upon arrival.

“We’re just working it from outside, we’re not putting people inside the building, structurally the building didn’t look sound when we got here,” said Fire Chief Fred Stephenson with the Loyalist Fire Department.

A number of people in the area reported hearing the blast. Betty Rattray lives a few doors down and described it as a huge bang.

It took fire crews just under an hour to get the blaze under the control. The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) was called in to investigate the cause of the blast.

“At this point, we are considering natural gas, we also are considering the possibility that something was brought to the scene to cause the explosion,” said OFMEM Fire Investigator, William Hay.

According to neighbours, the home had been vacant for the last two months but people could be seen coming and going from the property. The authorities had also visited.

“The police have had attendance here as well as the fire department for a number of issues which complicates the causation that we’re looking into at this point,” added Hay.

Some neighbours reported seeing suspicious activity around the time of the blast.

“They saw someone running away so that would indicate that it was set,” said John Walsh, whose home is two doors down.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They saw someone running away so that would indicate that it was set," said John Walsh, whose home is two doors down.

Officials say no one was found inside the home.  The investigation is expected to continue into Wednesday and possibly Thursday.