The Canadian Press
COALDALE, Canada — A southern Alberta fire crew’s training exercise could have ended with a big bang but for a last-minute check.
The Coaldale fire department was about to set fire to a vacant farmstead, but luckily someone checked the home and found 40 kilograms of dynamite in two wooden cases.
Jamey Takeda, who offered his late grandparents’ home for fire crews to destroy, said he was surprised to learn of the explosive find amid a bunch of clutter, including jam jars, a bottle of ketchup and tins of paint in the basement.
Deputy Fire Chief Jack Van Rijn said crews always do a walk-though of homes to be used in so-called live training burns and this week’s discovery is perfect example of why it is so important.
RCMP took the dynamite and safely destroyed it in a field, some of it clearly still volatile.
Van Rijn said it was a ''pretty wild explosion. It made quite a bang.’'
In the past, crews have found a loaded shot gun and a hunting rifle hidden in floor joists and boxes of shot-gun shells, propane bottles as well as old treasures.
Coaldale is about 220 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
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