PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two row homes in Port Richmond were destroyed in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. Investigators believe a gas leak caused the explosion.
Officials responded to the scene — on Miller Street, near Samuels Playground — around 3 a.m. Two row homes were completely obliterated and others were damaged, leaving several people displaced.
No one was killed in the blast. At least five people were injured in the collapse, one of them critically, and they are being treated at the hospital. Two of the survivors were able to escape the rubble on their own, while one was digging out of the debris when fire crews arrived.
“Honestly, I thought a car went into a house ’cause that’s how bad the house shook,” said Lauren Boothman, who was in her neighboring home during the blast.
She went outside and had no idea what was going on, but she smelled gas. “It was so bad. I could smell it from my window before I came outside.”
Boothman said the scene was very overwhelming for her and her neighbors.
“My neighbor came out and ran down the street just to see what was going on — came back very emotional. It was just, like, the houses were gone. The roof, the beam, were just in the middle of the street,” she said.
American Red Cross responders were on the scene working alongside city and fire officials, supporting residents with blankets and other amenities at the Bernard Samuel Recreation Center near Gaul and East Tioga streets.
Houses across the street are boarded up, as the windows were blown out by the force of the blast. Debris, like broken glass and pieces of roofing and wood, littered the sidewalk, even a half-block away.
Fencing has been erected around the scene, and there was construction equipment ready to move what was left of the two row houses.
Residents of nearby damaged homes are still waiting to hear when it is safe to go back inside.
PGW said it is cooperating with investigators.