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continued from p.1 John Mockford and Margaret Odenbach were in the basement two doors down from where the explosion occurred "We heard the noise," said Odenbach, "and I thought, `That's not thunder. That's too vicious to be thunder.'" Mockford went outside to see what had happened. He had been watching the progress of renovations on the house, which neighbours said had been ongoing for about two months, and was shocked by what he saw. "I looked out back," he said, "and my first impression was `Good heavens, the house is gone." Deputy Fire Chief George Birtig said the force of the blast pushed the three exterior walls out, causing the roof to drop straight down. The south wall of the house struck a neighbour's shed, but otherwise, nearby houses appeared undamaged. Birtig said they would be checked "for concussive damage" caused by the Explosion rocked neighbourhood explosion as well as for potential gas leaks. Residents of three neighbouring houses were evacuated. Seven Oakville fire trucks responded and Halton police blocked access to the street and the nearby park. Though the gas to the home was turned off manually, firefighters continued to battle a fire being fed by leaking gas on the south side of the home for more than 90 minutes. The fire was eventually extinguished, but gas continued to leak. Firefighters were digging to uncover the gas line at the front of the house in order stop the flow of gas. At approximately 7:30 p.m., the main gas line for the street was shut off, affecting approximately 60 homes. The cause of the explosion has not been determined. The Ontario fire marshal was called in to investigate. It was on scene with the Oakville Fire Department until 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and returned at 8 a.m. Thursday to continue the investigation. 3 | Friday, October 17, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Oakville firefighters survey damage after a natural gas leak at a Sandlewood Road home Wednesday. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) inside today's Editorial Sports Beaver www.insideHALTON.com 6 24 Artscene Classified 20 26 Alexanian Carpet & Flooring Home Hardware Real Estate Current Power Machinery New Homes Scott Weller Lobo mental WellneSS panel Community Speaker event tueSday, oCtober 21 @ 6:30 p.m. regiStration & refreShmentS begin @ 6:30 p.m. in the SChleSinger dining hall, appleby College parents and members of the appleby and oakville communities are invited to attend an information session on the subject of mental wellness, shared by a distinguished panel including anita federici, a psychologist at the WaterStone Clinic, andrew galloway, national director of the edgewood health network and kelly hall holland, founder of the riverstone recovery Centre. *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com Sore Feet, Sports Injury, Painful Ingrown Toenails? Plantar Warts? We can help! Exceptional footcare for all ages. · Routine footcare · Corns & calluses · Plantar warts · Heel/arch/foot pain · Diabetic footcare and education · Thick or ingrown nails · Nail surgery · Sports related foot problems & injuries · Custom made orthotics · Sigvaris® compression stockings · Evenings and saturday appointments available · New patients welcome! J. Richard Werkman chiropodist Now offering Laser treatment for toenail fungus. located on the north/west corner of maple grove dr. and cornwall rd. 1495 Cornwall Rd., Suite 33, Oakville T: 905-845-4817 www.werkman.ca For more information and to RSVP, please visit appleby.on.ca/mentalwellness2014. Don't Compromise on Driver Training upComing Courses november 1, 2, 8, 9 2 Weekends 9:30 am to 3:30 pm november 22, 23, 29, 30 2 Weekends 9:30 am to 3:30 pm December 20, 21, 22, 23 4 Days 9:30 am to 3:30 pm Located in Downtown Oakville for over 25 years! www.drivewiseoakville.com 905-845-7200