Explosion probed as residents settle back into neighborhood
The 69-year-old grandmother was home last Thursday with her daughter and young grandson when the house around the corner blew up.
Grenier, her daughter, Nicole, 32, and Brody, 4 1/2, ran to nearby
"My daughter Nicole was barefoot," said
Since their return home Tuesday to the
"And my wife wants the gas stove out of the house," he said.
The Greniers have lived on
That night, thousands of
Power came back Sunday and folks were allowed to return home. But gas service has yet to restored in most of the effected neighborhoods.
Over-pressurization of gas carrying lines are believed to be the cause of the fires and explosions. A probe continues by federal investigators from the
On Thursday, a week after the explosion, a backhoe was stationed in the middle of the destruction at
State troopers assigned to the fire marshal's office were working on the property investigating the "cause and origin" of the explosion.
Several men wearing NEFCO hard hats were also on the property. NEFCO is a private fire investigation service, according to its website.
Lawrence Firefighter
With the house was being razed and work underway,
He said the neighborhood has always been friendly but the kindness and caring shown over the past week has been remarkable.
"Neighbors just helping each other. It was awesome to see," said Grenier, a veteran sports reporter for
The explosion at
Rondon, who had just gotten his driver's license, pulled his RAV4 into the driveway at the home when the explosion flattened the house and sent the chimney toppling onto his car.
Later pronounced dead at
A teen-aged girl who was in the home also suffered severe leg injuries, police said. An update on her condition was unavailable Thursday.
De la Cruz declined further comment when reached late Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, neighbor
A week before, Nardozza, 91, had just turned on the TV, to watch the news, when the explosion "nearly threw me out my chair," he said.
"I heard the explosion and I saw a flash of light ... I thought a plane had blown up in the sky," said Nardozza, who has lived in the neighborhood for 59 years.
He stepped outside just as a police cruiser was flying up the street and stopped in front of the rubble.
"Get out of your house," the officer yelled to him, he said. "I left my house with just what I had on."
Nardozza then spent several days at his daughter's house in
"It's too much of a memory," said Nardozza, a
Down the street,
"I know it's been a week but it feels like a year," he said.
He and Eileen have yet to find any visible damage to their home. However, he said an insurance adjuster is coming out soon to take a look.
"We don't want to move. We just want to be made whole again," he said.
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