Calgary-area gas well explosion injures 5 workers, 3 critically

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) says safeguards have been put in place at a gas well fire north of Cochrane.

At 2 p.m. on Monday, five people were taken to hospital following an explosion and fire at an HWN Energy sweet gas well, eight kilometres north of the town near Big Hill Springs Road and Range Road 40.

EMS said three of the patients were in life-threatening condition.

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In a statement, the AER said roadblocks were set up to protect the public and help emergency crews at the scene.

"AER staff are at site assessing the situation and evaluating the ongoing response efforts," the statement said.

"We will maintain a presence on site and continue ongoing communication with HWN to ensure that public safety and environmental protection are upheld, and that all regulatory requirements are met."

Chris Ratzlaff was capturing some fall colours near Cochrane when he saw the plumes of black smoke.

"You kind of assume that that maybe this is probably oil and gas related," he said.

"There isn't a lot out there that's going to cause a big fire like that."

He says he remembers seeing a major emergency response.

"The number of ambulances that were going in and out really gave an indication that, there is probably some injuries that occurred as a result," said Ratzlaff.

As of Tuesday morning, company officials remained at the scene and teams from Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) were also present.

OHS said its initial investigation is that there was an explosion at the site.

"It is always tragic when workers are hurt on the job. Our government's goal is to have all workers return home safely after every workday," read a statement from an OHS spokesperson.

HWN Energy says it isn't sure about the exact cause of the incident.

As of Tuesday afternoon, HWN Energy said it had "mobilized industry experts and specialized equipment to restore control of the well in a safe and timely manner."

"The well is still actively burning," read a statement on the company's website.

"Currently, well control specialists, AER representatives, OHS officers and HWN personnel are on site working to implement a well control plan. At this time, we consider the fire contained to the surface lease. Additional air monitors have been brought to the site to supplement existing monitoring and to evaluate any environmental risks and public safety."

Safety Boss Inc. is an oil and gas well firefighting company in Calgary.

It specializes in these types of fires, but has not been called in to help fight this blaze.

"Our first priority is always for public safety, personnel on site and then the environment," said president and CEO Heide Lasante.

"Most people think, the main priority is putting that fire out. But for us, that is not. Once the well is lit, we want to keep that well lit. We know what the fuel. fuel source is doing. It's not unpredictable at that point."

Lasante says it's tricky to predict how long these blazes will last.

"We've had some that have lasted one day, and then we've had some bigger fires, maybe underground blowouts, that have lasted a couple of weeks depending on what the situation was," she said.

All of the victims were contractors, the company said in a statement. Their identities and current conditions are not known.

"As a precautionary measure, we have evacuated non-essential personnel from the immediate area and have established an exclusion zone around the site," it said.

"We are in close communication with local authorities, and all necessary regulatory bodies have been informed."