WEST PARK, Fla. – Surveillance video obtained by Local 10 News Wednesday shows the moment a house exploded in a Broward County neighborhood, sending a family of four to the hospital and leaving six people displaced.
The gas explosion, which was under investigation on Wednesday, leveled a family’s house, at 5241 SW 20 St, in West Park, and destroyed three others on Tuesday morning.
Cellphone video shows panicked neighbors running to help the four residents, including two children, who live inside.
“It’s like a war zone happened, like something crazy just happened,” said Dominque Wright, whose mother was injured in the blast.
Wright told Local 10 News that he wasn’t home at the time of the blast but his 57-year-old mother, Annette Brown, was fast asleep in the home next door when the explosion rocked the West Park Neighborhood.
“The sheetrock fell on top of her which probably hit her head, so she (Brown) was just dazed,” he said.
Wright said Brown screamed for help after being trapped beneath the rubble that included concrete, cinder blocks and drywall before she was rescued by her younger son.
“He couldn’t get to her through the house, so he just yelled for her and that woke her up,” Wright said.
“The shockwave from the explosion on Southwest 20th Street left us with severe injuries, from burns to other traumas. Our once-happy home is now a pile of debris, and we face a long and challenging journey ahead,” Wright wrote, adding that “the road to recovery is daunting.”
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane said three of the victims who suffered burns were at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in Miami and the other person injured was at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
“The injuries range from significant to life-threatening,” Kane said on Tuesday during a news conference.
As neighbors work to repair more than a dozen other homes damaged by the blast, it’s investigators who believe gas is to blame after pulling a large propane tank from the rubble.
“She was smelling gas— like some gas smell that night,” Wright said.
Deputies closed the area of 20th Street and 52nd Avenue and personnel with The Red Cross were assisting six residents left homeless.
“We never thought we’d be reaching out in such circumstances, but our lives took an unexpected turn,” Wright wrote.
Authorities have not provided an update on the condition of the four victims, police told Local 10 News they were suffering from injuries that included severe burns and broken bones.
Wright set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help his family find a temporary place to live. Click here if you would like to donate.
Morning news conference (Unedited video): Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane
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Tuesday reports