PROTEST HITS STREET
CALGARY STAMPEDE
Traffic trouble in Parkvale
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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
MONDAY, JULY 16, 2012
Blast rattles homes PROPANE BARBECUE TANK INSIDE VAN BELIEVED SOURCE OF EXPLOSION BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF An explosion rocked the Normandeau neighbourhood sending one man to hospital and injuring another in Red Deer Sunday morning. Red Deer Emergency Services fire captain Terry Brew said residents of a home on Nagel Avenue were moving stuff from a rented truck to a garage when the explosion occurred. A propane barbecue tank inside a van is likely the source of the explosion. “One person suffered first degree burns on his back,” said Wes Van Bavel, Red Deer fire prevention officer. “The second male had first and second degree burns on his left arm and on his face and some lacerations. But after three hours in hospital, he was released.” City fire crews responded to the call around 9 a.m. Brew said they heard the sound at the fire station on 67th Street and thought someone had ploughed into the building. “It was a big thump,” said Brew. Minor damage was reported on six surrounding properties. Neighbours on both sides of the home reported debris flying onto their property, pictures falling off walls and chandeliers crashing. The mobile homes in Parkside Estates, east of Nagel Avenue and separated by an al-
Photo by CYNTHIA RADFORD/Advocate staff
A moving truck is strewn with debris after an explosion from a leaking propane tank stored in the van. The explosion occurred early Sunday morning on Nagel Avenue and resulted in minor injuries to two people. ley, seemed to have suffered the most damage. The foundations of three trailers directly across the alley from the explosion may have shifted. Kevin Brezuk said the pic-
tures and mirrors on his walls crashed down and his whole home shook. “I picked up so much in my back yard,” said Brezuk. “There was so much stuff. It was unreal.”
Brezuk said the bottom aluminum skirt pieces on the bottom of his mobile home ripped apart and the screening on his windows popped out. “To tell you the truth, I thought it was a plane that
landed in the backyard,” said Brezuk. “I’m not kidding you. It was a such a big bang and a shake. Unreal.”
Please see DAMAGE on Page A2
LACOMBE
Ambulance service noting more calls, longer crew waits BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by CYNTHIA RADFORD/Advocate staff
Dan Strowbridge positions sod for the recently completed “Build a Kid to Cure” house. Laebon Homes’ team completed the house in just four-and-a-half days. The house has been turned over to Laebon’s marketing people to sell with all proceeds going towards children’s cancer research.
Laebon Homes sets record for build BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF
BUILD A KID TO A CURE
Laebon Homes set the standard by building a $300,000 house in a mere 92 hours or four and a half days. That’s right –– days. The remarkable construction feat was part of the annual Build a Kid to Cure house where construction crews and
PLEASE RECYCLE
trade partners donated their time and supplies for charity. In the past the homes were completed within 30 days. “As far as I know this is the fastest a home has ever been built in Red Deer,” said carpenter and project manager Jeff McPhee.
“It’s a pretty good feeling of accomplishment.” The foundation was already in place when crews started on the 11,000 square-foot bi-level in Timberlands at 4:30 a.m. on Monday.
Please see HOUSE on Page A2
WEATHER
INDEX
Periods of rain
Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B6
FORECAST ON A2
Lacombe’s ambulance service has seen a jump in call volume and longer waits for crews in hospitals since the province took control of ambulance service. Other emergency medical services in Alberta are sure to be experiencing similar issues, said Lacombe City Coun. Outi Kite, who is also chair of the Lacombe Municipal Ambulance Service Association. “It’s a universal concern,” said Kite. “This is not new to (Alberta Health Services). We have been bringing this up for years.” Health Quality Council of Alberta is conducting a review of ground ambulance service, announced earlier this year, and is asking EMS organizations across the province to fill out a questionnaire. Governance for ambulance service was a municipal responsibility until April 2009, when Alberta Health Services took it over to improve patient care, accountability and efficiency. A borderless system was introduced so ambulances
move around and cover other communities. In its questionnaire, Lacombe Municipal Ambulance Service said that at times there have been no ambulances in Lacombe County, including the City of Lacombe. The increase number of interfacility transfers and coverage to other municipalities have also increased operating costs and reduced emergency coverage. Lacombe Municipal Ambulance Service says dispatch centres don’t understand that geography, resources, shifting and staff fatigue are different for rural areas. EMS resource planning appears based on metro models and smaller communities and rural areas do not have the same number of trained staff, equipment and specialty teams. Kite said Lacombe Municipal Ambulance Service had more than 2,000 calls in 2010 and more than 3,000 in 2011, with the same number of ambulances. Simply increasing the number of ambulances wouldn’t address quality of care, she said.
Please see WAIT on Page A2
CANADA
WORLD
WEATHER SLOWS HUNT FOR MUDSLIDE VICTIMS
SYRIAN CONFLICT DECLARED CIVIL WAR
Crews are keeping a close eye on the weather as it hampers search efforts for four people believed to be buried in a massive landslide in southeastern B.C. A3
Syria’s 16-month bloodbath crossed an important symbolic threshold Sunday as the international Red Cross formally declared the conflict a civil war. D4