‘I’ve lost everything, I’ve got nothing left’ Nine months after house exploded, Transcona senior says he’s being treated like ‘criminal’ by insurance company as police probe continues By: Malak Abas Posted: 6:34 PM CST Thursday, Mar. 6, 2025

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2025 (559 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earnest Prescotte is still picking up the pieces of his life nine months after his Transcona home exploded.

His Camrose Bay house blew up on June 26, damaging 22 other homes, including a neighbour’s that had to be demolished. Prescotte wasn’t home when the explosion happened and no one was injured.

The 75-year-old says he can’t believe, nine months later, he continues to struggle to make ends meet as he waits for the police to finish the investigation and for his insurance claim to move forward.

He said he hasn’t heard from police since July.

“I expected something to actually have taken place if an investigation is still going on,” Prescotte told the Free Press Thursday, the first time he has spoken publicly about the explosion.

“I don’t even know if the investigation is still on, or it’s cancelled, or if they found the source, I don’t know.”

He said he left home early that summer morning to drive his brother to a cancer treatment appointment and came home to see police vehicles and fire trucks surrounding his house.

“I was crying. I didn’t know what to think … I didn’t know what to say, to do. I mean, I lost everything. I’ve got nothing left. The whole house and the garage, everything is gone.”

“I don’t even know if the investigation is still on.”–Earnest Prescotte

He was questioned by police at the time and later left to stay with his brother. His only belongings were the van he was driving that morning and the clothes on his back, including a jacket he had left in his backseat. He said there was nothing salvageable on the property and was told by police to stay away.

Prescotte is still staying with his 77-year-old brother and struggles to help pay bills with his pension. The longer the investigation takes, he said, the longer he’ll have to wait for support from his insurance company.

“I can’t buy nothing. I can’t do absolutely nothing. I’m a prisoner,” he said. “I’m walking around, but I’ve got no freedom.”

The Winnipeg Police Service didn’t offer any updates on the case.

”The investigation is still ongoing and there are no new updates to provide at this time,” WPS Const. Claude Chancy said in an email.

“I’ve got nothing left. The whole house and the garage, everything is gone.”–Earnest Prescotte

In July, a police spokesperson said the investigation could take “months.”

Prescotte said in January 2014, the home he was living at on Horton Avenue West burned down and was later demolished. He moved into his home on Camrose Bay in 2015.

He said the cause of the 2014 fire was determined to be an electrical issue. The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said the file on the fire had been archived and could not confirm the cause Thursday.

In the months since the explosion, Prescotte said he has seen people accuse him on social media of being responsible, and said he feels like he has been “treated (like) a criminal” by his insurance provider.

“I want to find out who’s behind all this,” Prescotte said, insisting he is not responsible. He doesn’t believe the explosion was an accident.

“It surprises me that they haven’t told us what’s happened, they haven’t released that information.”–Neighbour

At 35 Camrose Bay in Transcona, the rubble that was once Prescotte’s house and the remains of his neighbour’s demolished home are fenced off. Pieces of Prescotte’s old life are still distinguishable — a stove burned beyond repair, a burnt-out van turned on its side, and other appliances are strewn across the yard.

The neighbours say they’re still struggling with the impact of what happened that day.

“My wife is still jumpy,” one neighbour, who asked not to be named, told the Free Press.

“She was in the house … when it exploded, it knocked (her) down. I mean, how can that not affect people?”

Their home is still being repaired. Insurance, he said, has moved slowly.

“I hope there’s charges, one way or the other, criminal negligence, whatever,” he said. “We’re lucky people didn’t die in this.”

Another neighbour said he’s “disheartened” after the city has left residents to their own devices to clean up in the aftermath and police didn’t appear to be around much past the initial blast.

“They were all over it for three or four days. I had my driveway taped off, I couldn’t even get out of my driveway with my truck, and then they just up and left … that was it,” he said.

He, like much of the neighbourhood, hopes they’ll receive an update soon.

“It surprises me that they haven’t told us what’s happened, they haven’t released that information,” he said. “I don’t know what is taking so long.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca