1 dead, 3 injured in explosion and fire at house linked to drug trade
A 40-year-old man and a dog died Saturday night in an explosion and fire at a Prince George house linked to the drug trade, RCMP say.
Three other men were also taken to hospital after the house on Chilako Drive was engulfed in flames within minutes.
Nearby homes were evacuated and billowing smoke was visible from blocks away.
"It's believed everyone made it out," said RCMP Cpl Craig Douglass.
Douglass says the men inside, and the address, were well known to police.
"They have had police attention in the past ... predominately to do with the drug trade," said Douglass.
Men may have been handling gasoline
Witnesses and video evidence suggest the men injured or killed had been handling large quantities of gasoline before the explosion, police say.
RCMP fire investigators and the Forensic Identification Service were still at the scene on Tuesday. Police tape surrounded the charred house and a blackened car. A heavy equipment operator was starting to demolish what remained.
Officials are still trying to determine the cause of the blast and whether it was criminal in nature.
