An explosion injured five people, destroyed three homes and damaged over 40 other houses in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood during the early hours of 2023.
The explosion occurred around 2:45 a.m. Sunday along the 3500 block of Miller Street. Philadelphia Police responded to the scene and discovered three homes were destroyed.
Tara Dendall, who lives next door to where the explosion occurred, told NBC10 she had just went to bed after watching New Year's Eve celebrations, when the blast woke her up.
"I heard a boom," Dendall said. "That window came in first, and it got me, then all this came in on top of me."
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The explosion blew out the windows of her home and several other houses.
Chris Heinsinger told NBC10 he was driving by with his girlfriend when the explosion occurred.
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"Just out of nowhere, it was a loud bang. And I just felt my car push over to the curb," he said.
Heinsinger, his girlfriend, two other men, and a 64-year-old woman were all injured in the blast.
"We found two individuals who had somewhat self-extracted from the explosion," Philadelphia Assistant Fire Chief Charles Walker said. "And we had one individual we actually had to dig out from the debris."
Maya Mardula, the 11-year-old granddaughter of the 64-year-old woman, spoke with NBC10 on Monday.
“She was sleeping on the second floor of her bed,” Mardula said. “And it kind of threw her out with her bed. Then wood piled up on top of her.”
Responding firefighters pulled Mardula's grandmother out of the rubble. She suffered a broken leg as well as burns to her face, head and arm, according to Mardula. She is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday.
Another victim, the neighbor of the 64-year-old woman, is currently in extremely critical condition.
“They couldn’t find him,” Mardula said. “He was buried under there.”
Heinsinger and his girlfriend were later released from the hospital.
"The fact that I'm able to sit there and see this, like I survived this, I feel grateful. I do," Heinsinger told NBC10.
Police have not yet revealed the condition of the fifth victim.
Other neighbors whose homes were damaged in the blast plan to visit the hospital, including Angelika Kurpaska and Ron Tini. They both fear they suffered concussions during the explosion.
“We thought that we were getting bombed,” Kurpaska said. “My bed is right by the window. So it was just like flashes of lights that came through. The windows broke. The mirrors. Our chandeliers. Everything fell on us.”
Though in pain, they’re happy to be alive.
“The fact that no one died is just amazing,” Tini said. “That’s a miracle in itself. Look at these houses. I mean, they’re gone.”
Investigators believe the cause of the blast was gas-related. None of the impacted buildings had any violations, according to property records.
Philadelphia Gas Works is currently handling claims from anyone whose home was damaged. The Red Cross also found accommodations for all of the displaced residents.
Firefighters warned residents to call 911 immediately if they ever smell gas.
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