An explosion at a Pickering home sent a male to hospital with unknown injuries on Monday afternoon.

Emergency crews were called to a residence located in the area of York Durham Lane and 16th Avenue at around 2 p.m.

Aerial footage from the scene showed the completely levelled home with debris scattered throughout the property.

At the height of the incident, a full-response effort was prompted and five fire trucks were dispatched to the scene.

“It involved multiple agencies as we are in a very rural area so we have vehicles here from Ajax, Markham, as well as Pickering trucks in order to put this out,” Pickering Fire’s Steve Fowls told CP24 at the scene.

He said it is not yet clear if the explosion caused a fire at the home or if a fire caused the explosion.

“That is what the Fire Marshal Office is going to determine.”

Speaking with CP24 also at the scene, Douglas Brown, from the Office of the Fire Marshal, said the investigation is still in its early stages.

“It’s very preliminary in the investigation stage of the fire,” Brown said. “Our crews are focusing on ensuring the scene is safe for us to actually work there and also we’re making sure that there is no further safety hazard.”

“There definitely was an explosion at this scene and the evidence is pointing to that. We are going to take a few days before we determine what was the cause of the explosion and the fire.”

Fowlds said officials will be investigating the matter overnight and into the morning on Tuesday.

Roads have been blocked off nearby as the investigation is conducted.