23

Bentley firemen at work
2007
Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

24

Explosion Rocks Bentley
On Friday, September 14, 2007 at approximately 12:30 pm a massive explosion rocked the town of Bentley. One house was obliterated and two others badly damaged after a natural gas explosion. Many residents described it as a "seismic boom". People thought it was something you might see from a movie. Pieces and sections of shingles were all over, even covering cars in the street and neighboring lots. Pieces of lumber was scattered around, some even hanging in trees and a few pieces hanging from the power line. Broken glass and insulation were everywhere.
Many windows were blown out of neighboring houses, pictures bounced from walls, cupboard doors and drawers were blown open with the contents tumbling out, curtains were blown down and some door jams damaged in houses near by. People as far away as three and half miles out in the country felt the explosion.
Emergency personnel responded from various detachments, including Sylvan Lake and Red Deer Rural RCMP, and Bentley and Lacombe fire departments, local Citizens on Patrol, and Disaster Services. The entire block was cordoned off for many hours as crews contained the area and fought the resulting fire.
Any students outside Bentley School were brought inside. The high school had an assembly all ready planned in the gymnasium, so they continued with that. Elementary school students were kept in their rooms with their teachers, with the doors locked.
Luckily no one was injured and all three homes at the centre of the explosion were empty at the time. It was also lucky there was very little wind and the grass and foliage was green and it wasn't forty below.
The town of Bentley opened an emergency operations centre in their town office which included a phone line to handle questions. The Bentley Volunteer Fire Department was credited with a very quick response.