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
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.