No injuries reported in 'small explosion' at Université de Moncton
Firefighters and police in New Brunswick responded to an explosion at a lab on the campus of the Université de Moncton Saturday morning.
Platoon Chief Keith Guptill of the Moncton Fire Department said the call came in shortly after 11 a.m.
The call from the 911 dispatch centre was originally for a fire inside a science lab, but Guptill said they received an update while in transit that it was a small explosion.
"So of course, that makes us have a heightened sense of responsibility," said Guptill. "Fire is one thing, explosion is another all together, so safety for our crew as well as the individuals that might have been on scene."
Two people were inside the building at the time of the incident, but they exited the building safely.
There were no injuries reported in the blast.
Guptill said a small fire was put out very quickly.
While the incident turned out to be minor, firefighters were not aware of that when they were responding.
"There was a number of members of the RCMP showing up here as well," said Guptill. "When you hear ‘explosion’ in any city, that's a big deal. So they all responded. We all expected to see something very sensational when we arrived here and that wasn't the case and we're happy about that obviously."
As a result of Saturday's incident, a fire prevention team will come to the university to talk to staff to find out more about what their safety protocols.
"Where the place their chemicals, what each of these machines do, so that the fire department members as we respond on scene have more accurate knowledge of what we're dealing with when we get here," he said.
Fire investigators are trying to determine if there was a malfunction with equipment inside the lab or if the fire was electrical in nature.
There was no damage inside the building.
CTV News has reached out to the Université de Moncton for comment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.