Police respond to small explosion in east Vancouver

Two houses were evacuated and police closed the road in the 15000 block of Southeast Fifth Street for a device that reportedly exploded Wednesday afternoon.

Vancouver police officers were called to the suspicious circumstances at 1:15 p.m. for a small explosion in a driveway reported by a homeowner, Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said

“It is potentially a firework inside a pop bottle or something,” Kapp said. “There were no flames, some smoke.”

No one was reported injured and there was no damage to any structures, Kapp said.

“Fortunately it’s not a huge deal, but they’re going to be out there a little while,” she said.

A hazmat crew was called to the scene and a bomb technician also responded to remove the device, Kapp said.