Owner of destroyed London, Ont., home 'astonished' by explosion

Owner of destroyed London, Ont., home 'astonished' by explosion

131 Base Line Rd. W had been vacant since the end of May, says owner Asif Sheikh

The owner of the property at 131 Base Line Rd. W. in south London, Ont., says he was shocked when he heard the vacant house had been destroyed by an explosion on Wednesday afternoon.

Asif Sheikh has owned the property, as well as the two empty adjacent lots, for just over two years, and received a call from police shortly after the explosion telling him what had happened, he said.

"I was just astonished. I could not imagine," he said. "It's a sad incident, but could have been much worse...there was no loss of life."

The explosion occurred shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, destroying the home and damaging a detached garage, along with a number of cars in the area.

Neighbours in nearby buildings reported feeling the force of the blast, with one woman saying she saw the roof of the house blow '40 feet up.'

Emergency crews were quick to respond with about five vehicles and 20 to 25 fire fighters, said London Deputy Fire Chief Gary Bridge.

The cause has yet to be determined and the investigation is ongoing. London police, fire, and officials from the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office remained at the scene Thursday afternoon.

Man in critical condition after explosion destroys south London, Ont., home

One man was sent to hospital with critical injuries and remained in critical condition as of Thursday, Bridge said. It's unclear whether the man was inside or outside the home at the time.

The home was vacant when the blast occurred, and the last tenants had moved out in May, Sheikh said. When he inspected the property after they left, everything seemed fine, and a property management company had been looking after it since then, he said.

Although no one was living there, the natural gas service remained active, and Enbridge Gas crews were on scene Wednesday to shut off the connection, according to the London Fire Department. The property's hydro connection had also been active.

While the cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, Sheikh said his first thought was that it could have been gas-related.

When a house is vacant, Bridge said owners are encouraged to disconnect all utilities, but Sheikh believes there are numerous reasons to keep them running.

"Imagine it's winter and there's still water in the pipes, and you need heat, and there might be gas needed for heating." he said. "There might be security things, there might be a sump pump in the house, so you can't turn off hydro."

If a building is vacant for more than 60 days, London's Vacant Building By-law requires that property owners ensure utilities are disconnected or otherwise secured to prevent damage to the building or adjacent property, unless necessary for safety or security reasons, or required by law.

Sheikh said it had been a constant struggle dealing with unhoused people on the three adjacent properties as they would often set up small encampments, specifically on the two empty lots.

A vacant home had sat on one of the other lots, 129 Base Line Rd. W., but was demolished as it was constantly being broken into, he said. As far as he knows, he says there was never an issue with people squatting inside 131 Base Line.

The fire department says it conducts routine monthly inspections of vacant homes across the city to make sure they remain boarded up and that nobody is inside.

"If there appears to be somebody within, we contact and arrange for those to be boarded up so that we can keep those safe and keep people out of these vacant buildings," said Bridge.

Fire officials were aware the building was vacant, and crews had "responded there in the past for fire-related instances," he said. Firefighters had previously responded to 129 Base Line, including in April 2024.

As far as the home itself is concerned, Sheikh said it's not a big loss.

"It's just a cleanup really," he said. "The house didn't have much value anyway, and we were going to take it down in due in time."

Sheikh is hoping to develop the three lots, but the project remains on hold, as the "economic conditions are not conducive" at the moment, he said. City council voted in 2023 to rezone the three lots to allow for the construction of a 14-storey residential building.

Jack joined CBC London after graduating from Fanshawe College in 2025. He previously studied political science and Russian studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. You can contact him at jack.sutton@cbc.ca.

With files from Matthew Trevithick