A timeline of the explosion that shook Orléans
Many residents in Orléans were jolted from their sleep early Monday morning after an explosion caused by a gas leak at a residential construction site shook their homes several kilometres away.
Two men were pulled from the wreckage in the hours after the blast and rushed to hospital in serious, but stable condition, while two children and an additional two adults were taken to local hospitals in stable condition. Another seven people were treated on scene and released.
The Office of the Fire Marshal is leading the investigation into the Orléans blast, while a Technical Standards & Safety Authority fuels safety investigator and inspector are assisting. Ontario's Ministry of Labour is conducting its own investigation.
Here's what we know about how the events unfolded from the moment of the explosion:
6:17 a.m. (and 22 seconds) The explosion
Footage from a resident's ring camera shows the moment an explosion rocked a residential area near Tenth Line Road, releasing a fireball several storeys into the air and illuminating the early morning sky.
6:18 a.m. 911 flooded with calls
Seconds later, multiple 911 calls started streaming in from residents about a blast in the area of Tenth Line Road and Shallow Pond Place.
They felt their homes shake kilometres away from the blast radius. In the initial confusion, some residents later told CBC they thought there had been an earthquake.
Divya Suri described seeing her windows blown out, ceiling cracked and a door off its frame.
Insulation could be seen strewn across homes and cars blocks away.
Drone footage taken by CBC showed the homes under construction where the explosion occurred were levelled.
6:34 a.m. Ottawa police aware of 'incident'
Seventeen minutes after the explosion, Ottawa police put out the first tweet from emergency services saying they are aware of an "incident" in the area of Tenth Line Road and Harvest Valley Avenue.
Ottawa gas leak, explosion
Five minutes later they closed off an area around Tenth Line Road between Sweetvalley Drive and Harvest Valley Avenue.
7:08 a.m. Explosion confirmed
Ottawa Fire Services confirmed on social media that the loud bang that shook homes in Orléans was the result of a gas leak.
More than 40 minutes after the explosion, firefighters confirmed gas was still leaking at the site and asked people to avoid the area as they combed through the rubble in search of anyone amidst the wreckage.
7:19 a.m. First person rescued
One hour after the explosion, the first of two people trapped was pulled from the rubble.
The man was trapped under a pile of debris and firefighters needed to use chainsaws to get to him, according to fire spokesperson Nicholas DeFazio.
He was rushed to Ottawa's trauma centre at The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus in serious, but stable condition.
Between approximately 7:30 and 9 a.m. Residents evacuated
CBC spoke with one resident whose home backs onto the area where the explosion occurred.
Simerdeep Singh says police knocked on his door around 7:45 a.m. saying he, his wife and two children would have to leave their home for an indefinite period of time while officials checked the structural integrity of the home.
Anyone displaced from their homes was told to seek shelter either at Minto's sales office at 2370 Tenth Line Road or in an OC Transpo bus in the area of Tenth Line Road and Sweetvalley Drive.
9:31 a.m. Second person rescued
More than three hours after the explosion and two hours after the first person was found amidst the rubble, a second person was pulled from a collapsed home.
He was also rushed to the trauma centre in serious but stable condition, according to paramedics.
9:37 a.m. First news conference
Minutes after the second man was rescued, firefighters, police and paramedics held their first news conference where they said, in all, 11 people had been injured in the explosion. Two people in addition to the two pulled from the rubble were taken to hospital, while seven were treated at the scene and released.
At a second news conference an hour later, paramedics said the total number of people hurt had risen to 12.
11 a.m. Gas shut off
By late morning, Enbridge Gas said in an email to CBC it had shut off the natural gas supply to 27 homes in the area, some of them unoccupied.
11:40 a.m. Minto reacts
In an email statement to CBC, Minto Communities said emergency services were on the scene of its Avalon Vista community.
"Minto team members are on-site to address the needs of impacted community members and we have opened our model homes to keep evacuated residents warm and comfortable," the company's president Brent Strachan said.
1:40 p.m. Third news conference
Ottawa Fire Services, along with Ottawa police and Orléans South–Navan Coun. Catherine Kitts held a third news conference.
They said the two people rescued were found in different areas. No one else was considered missing.
4 p.m. Office of the Fire Marshal arrives
By mid-afternoon, a team of six investigators from the Office of the Fire Marshal had arrived on scene. They included a drone operator, engineers and fire investigators.
The purpose of the investigation is "to determine the cause, origin, and circumstances of the explosion," the office told CBC in an email.
7:30 p.m. Road reopens, some residents allowed home
Singh confirmed to CBC he was told he would be allowed to return home with his family for the night, but he wasn't certain whether they had heat, hydro or water.
Ottawa police also stated that Tenth Line Road had reopened, but the residential streets around the explosion were still closed.
