CALGARY Several neighbours rushed to help after a quiet neighbourhood northeastern Calgary was rocked by an explosion Monday morning that obliterated a small bungalow and seriously injured at least 10 people.

Neighbours said it was mostly adult men who seemed to live in the house, many of whom suffered severe burns in the resulting fire.

The explosion flung shingles, wood and pink chunks of insulation into trees and onto roofs three houses in all directions. Only a gap in the row of houses remained hours later as firefighters combed the still smoking remains.

Neighbour Lee McIntyre was alerted to the blast when several pictures fell off the wall of his home. He ran across the street in a bathrobe with his roommate, who tried to pull one man out of the debris while McIntyre tried to break through the door of the house next door — which was also on fire — to get a woman out.

“A lot of the neighbours were out here trying to help out as much as they can, bringing blankets, bringing water and everything else just trying to help everyone else.”

The Calgary Fire Department said that the force of the explosion created “a large debris field” and several fires.

Many of the injured were believed to have been inside the home when it blew up and were sent to various hospitals in the city, the department said.

Adam Loria, a spokesman for Calgary Emergency Medical Services, said all the people sent to hospital are adults.

He said six people were in life-threatening condition and four received serious injuries.

Loria said there were no children involved and the explosion was in a single-family home.

“It was quite the group effort, not only with EMS, to ensure all patients were cared for and transported in a timely fashion, but as well with our first responder partners Calgary police and Calgary fire,” Loria said.

Bobbie Puttick, who lives eight houses down from the explosion, said it happened after he left for work, but his children were home at the time.

“They felt the house rock and they came out and took a video right away,” he said.

“It’s nuts to see the house gone. And to see the roof on the other, across the street in the neighbour’s yard.”

Fire and police are on scene trying to determine the cause of the blast.

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