Small explosion at lab at University of New Brunswick in Fredericton injures two

University of New Brunswick Old Arts Building (Wikipedia photo)

FREDERICTON — Two people were slightly injured Monday by a small explosion inside a lab at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

Emergency responders were called to the second floor of the Enterprise Building on Garland Court at around 9:45 a.

m. and the building was evacuated.

City spokeswoman Alycia Morehouse said she didn’t know what chemicals were involved in the explosion, but she said there was no fire and that two researchers were taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

She said it was unclear what caused the explosion, but she confirmed it involved some kind of chemical inside a “small glass vessel.”

“They’re still trying to determine the nature of what was in there,” she said. “From what we understand, the building is used for research on pulp- and paper-type products.”

Firefighters were called in to clean up the mess inside the lab, but they weren’t required to wear gear to protect them from hazardous materials.

“The type of materials used weren’t very volatile,” Morehouse said.

“We did not require them for this incident.”