Man burned in Laval explosion

Police in Laval have a major mystery on their hands after an explosion ripped through a house in the St. François district early Sunday morning

According to Laval police spokesperson Constable Franco Di Genova, officials received a 911 call around 3:30a.m. reporting a major blast. The explosion - and ensuing fire - completely destroyed the home on Coteau St., Di Genova said

Pierre Jean-Claude Nicolas, 45, was alone in the house at the time of the explosion. He escaped onto the lawn but was left with severe burns over 40 per cent of his body

Nicolas was rushed to hospital and put into a chemically induced coma. He is expected to remain in that state for two to three weeks

"It's going to be a long process of recovery for him," Di Genova said. "It will be months."

Several homes on either side of the property were evacuated in the wake of the explosion. Those residents, although shaken, were allowed to return home a few hours later. Want to find out more about house name?

"There is nothing left of the house where the explosion took place," Di Genova said. "When the first firemen and officers arrived on the scene, they found traces of some kind of accelerant, which leads us to believe this is most likely criminal."

Investigators on the scene conducted a search of the property's perimeter yesterday. Although they received a search warrant for the home, they decided it was too risky to enter because of the heat, Di Genova said. "They will be back (Monday) morning with the tractor and all of their equipment to search the inside of the home for evidence."

Police have no suspects and the victim is not known to police, Di Genova said. Investigators will likely be on the scene for several days, he added