This aerial photo shows two homes that were leveled and the numerous neighboring homes that were damaged from a massive explosion that sparked a huge fire and killed two people, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012, in Indianapolis. Nearly three dozen homes were damaged or destroyed by the blast that could be felt at least three miles away. /AP PHOTO/THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR, MATT KRYGER
...The powerful nighttime blast (click here) shattered windows, crumpled walls and could be felt at least three miles away.
Seven people were taken to a hospital with injuries after the explosion and fire, Deputy Fire Chief Kenny Bacon said....
...Mark Lotter, a spokesman for the mayor, said about three dozen homes were damaged or destroyed. He said 27 were uninhabitable and another eight had significant damage....
...All power, gas and other utilities in the area were shut off as a precaution as emergency officials swarmed the site....
...Pam Brainerd, a 59-year-old hospice nurse, said she was asleep when the explosion blew out the upstairs windows in her house.
"I was sleeping on the sofa and all of a sudden, my upstairs windows were blowing out and my front door was falling in," Brainerd said. "My front door came off the frame. It was the largest bang I've ever heard."
She stepped outside and saw what she described tall flames one street away. "There was a house engulfed in flames, and I could see it spreading to other houses," she added.
The pictures below are of the San Bruno, California natural gas explosion. Same thing.
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...Eye witnesses reported the initial blast "had a wall of fire more than 1,000 feet high".
...Among the eight deaths (click here) was 20 year old, Jessica Morales, who was with her boyfriend, Joseph Ruigomez, at the epicenter of the fire (his home) on the corner of Earl Ave. Despite his proximity to the epicenter of the fire, Mr. Ruigomez survived but spent nearly five months recovering in the St. Francis Hospital Burn Center. Two other people at the Claremont address close to the explosion were among those killed: Jacqueline Greig, 44, and her 13-year-old daughter Janessa Greig. Greig worked for the California Public Utilities Commission, in a small unit that advocates for consumer rights pertaining to natural gas regulations. She had spent part of the summer evaluating PG&E's expansion plans and investment proposals to replace out-of-date pipelines.,Also killed in the blast were Lavonne Bullis, 82, Greg Bullis, 50, and Will Bullis, 17....
