Strathmore, Alberta Semi Truck Tires Explode Through Front Door Of House, Land In Kitchen

STRATHMORE, Alta. - An Alberta man woke up to sound of an explosion as a set of dual wheels off a semi truck flew through his front door and landed in his kitchen.

A stunned Bill Oriold climbed out of bed, smelled burning smoke and thought his furnace must have blown up.

"I looked and here was a big set of tractor-trailer tires sitting right up in my kitchen," Oriold said Wednesday from his home in Strathmore, Alta.

"You could smell the heat off them."

The tires, along with their metal axle, came off the tractor-trailer unit about 6 a.m., as it was rolling north on Highway 24 just outside the town east of Calgary.

Oriold said the tires shot about a half a kilometre through a neighbour's fence before busting down his door.

The mesh screen from the outside patio door landed in the kitchen sink. Broken glass from the door and a side window scattered throughout the house.

Oriold said it's amazing no one was hurt. His wife and 16-year-old granddaughter were also sleeping at the time.

The newspaper press man said he typically gets out of bed early and could easily have been making coffee in the kitchen or taking his dog outside to pick up a newspaper

"If I had been up five minutes earlier," said Oriold, "I wouldn't be having any conversations with anybody."

The set of wheels weigh 180 kilograms and caused about $40,000 in structural damage to the home. It took four firefighters to carry them out of the house.

Oriold said RCMP told him the truck driver made it to Edmonton before realizing the tires were missing and likely the same ones causing a big buzz in the news. He called the owner of the trucking company, and they contacted the RCMP.