A 48-year-old man is now facing charges in connection with a home explosion that shook a Whitby neighbourhood Wednesday afternoon.
The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. at a residence on Cedar Street, which is near Garden and Dundas streets.
Three male parties were found inside the home by firefighters and were taken to hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Late Wednesday, Durham Regional Police said that the three males had been in the basement and one of the men was trying to chemically create oil from marijuana when the explosion occurred.
Aerial footage from the scene Wednesday evening showed that one side of the home had partially collapsed with debris visible throughout the yard. The home’s windows also appear to have been shattered as a result of the force of the blast.
One neighbor who spoke with CP24 at the scene described hearing a “huge boom” before looking outside and seeing the damage.
“It sounded like a bomb went off,” she said. “There was a big, huge boom and then everything started falling off the house. The roof was going, windows were popping…”
Police said that the explosion appears to be an "isolated incident.”
A woman who lives on the main floor of the home also told CP24 that she believes the furnace may have blown up. She said that she was away from the residence at the time of the explosion because she was out picking up her daughter.
The injured parties live in the basement of the home, she said.
Police said a Whitby man has been charged with criminal negligence, arson, and production – a new charge under the Cannabis Act.
No other charges have been laid so far, police said.
Pine Street, Mary Street and Dundas Street in the area of the explosion have been closed “as a precaution,” police say.
