Nov. 08--LOWER TOWNSHIP -- Rubble and part of a wall are all that remain of an East Atlantic Avenue home in the Villas section following an explosion that injured a man and a woman, who were pulled from the home by neighbors.
Lower Township Patrolman Ed Edwards said the pair, both in their mid-60s, were airlifted to Crozier Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa. Their conditions were not available.
Police received a call at 3:40 p.m. from neighbors who reported that a house in the 200 block of East Atlantic had exploded. Many more calls soon came in. When personnel arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames, Edwards said.
Darrel Benjamin, a resident of the 300 block of East Atlantic, was doing laundry when he heard an explosion and felt "a wave of air," he said. He rushed to the scene, where he and four others pulled the man and the woman from the rubble, he said.
"The roof was gone," Benjamin said. "She had her arm out. She was screaming, 'Grab me. I'm on fire.' Then, when we started getting her out, she said, 'Leave me. Get my husband.'"
Bill Lazaro, who lives on East Delaware Parkway a block from the fire, said he and his cousin, Gary Lazaro, were the first on the scene.
"I heard the explosion. I ran outside, and I see just a glimpse of smoke, and I honestly just ran into there," he said. "I turned the natural gas off. I'm not sure if that was the cause, but I turned it off anyway."
Middle Township Mayor Michael Beck, who lives about 150 feet from the house, was cooking dinner when he heard the blast. He sprinted to the scene in his slippers.
He arrived to the horrific visual of a collapsed house and debris strewn about -- and to the sight of more than a dozen people helping to clear the area.
"You see the goodness in people who are willing to risk their lives to try to help people in this situation," he said. "I'm very grateful for their actions."
Police said the cause of the explosion was unknown Thursday.
Fire units from the Villas, Erma and Town Bank responded to the scene. Edwards said other homes may have been damaged.
Authorities evacuated homes along the 200 block of East Atlantic Avenue and some of adjacent Bates Avenue. They blocked public access to the immediate area.
Contact Braden Campbell:
609-463-6719
Copyright 2013 - The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J.
