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Residents suffer minor injuries in East York house explosion

Residents of a house in East York were left with minor injuries after an explosion Friday evening.

Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Peter Chow said crews were called to the area of Woodbine and Lumsden avenues shortly after 5 p.m. following reports of a small fire in the basement of a residence.

Soon after fire crews arrived, they quickly put out the small fire, Chow said.

Chow told reporters that a family of four lives in the basement but were able to make it out. He also said three men live on the second floor and one woman lives on the first floor.

Wendy Giera, an area resident, said she saw "the front windows blown out of the house, there was smoke pouring out."

Police say people were treated for "non life-threatening" injuries at the scene.

Chow said crews are waiting for engineers to arrive and inspect the building before they go back in. Investigators have also been called to the residence.

"We have to wait until the building is actually deemed safe," Chow said.

He said a hazardous materials truck has also been called to the scene to do air monitoring to ensure the building is safe for crews to re-enter. Chow said there is also a strong odour coming from the residence.

Toronto police aren't sure what caused the blast, spokesperson Laura Brabant said.

Roads in the area have been closed and police are asking people to avoid the area.