“Losing everything”: Son tells his parents’ story after Deep Creek explosion

Oct. 19--CHESAPEAKE -- As he had done 30 minutes earlier without problems, Don Berry pressed a button to light his new gas stove. A second later, his Deep Creek house exploded.

The blast launched his body through at least one wall, his son, Don Berry Jr., said in an interview with The Virginian-Pilot on Thursday.

Dazed and injured, Don Berry called out for his wife.

Faith Berry -- his wife of nearly five decades -- was in the living room, trapped in her recliner under a pile of debris after the explosion on Sunday. Neighbors rushed into the burning house and found her. She was rushed to the hospital.

On Monday, Faith Berry died. She was 64.

"(My dad is) devastated," their son said through tears. "She was his best friend."

The natural gas explosion injured nine people and leveled the Berry's home at 2516 Lofurno Road. It hit the two neighboring houses so hard that it weakened the foundations, leaving both uninhabitable.

Don Berry, 68, was left with almost nothing -- just his wallet, truck -- without keys -- and the clothes that emergency services workers had to cut off his body the night of the fire, his son said.

As the family tries to recover, it's still unclear what caused the explosion. The fire department said the investigation was ongoing.

'They're kind, caring people'

Don Berry grew up in West Virginia, but dropped out of high school and moved to Portsmouth as a teenager. There, he met Faith Berry, a local. They married while Faith Berry was still attending high school, their son said.

They had two children -- their son, who is 41, as well as a daughter.

Don Berry worked in road construction, operating an asphalt roller. His son estimated he's worked on 90 percent of the major projects around the region, something his dad took great pride in. He planned to retire at the end of the year.

Faith Berry stayed at home and took care of the kids while both were growing up. As a mother, she was both fun (when Don Berry was home) and strict (when he wasn't), her son said. She had an affinity for both beaches and the snow -- often making people walk around and enter the house through the backyard in the winter. She wanted to preserve the pristine white layer for as long as possible whenever it blanketed the front yard.

And during these colder winter months, she'd often pull the kids on a sled, which was made years ago by her father.

"That's lost now," said Don Berry Jr.

The sled was usually stored in the attic. Other things she collected, like Coca Cola memorabilia and lighthouse stuff, is gone.

The day before, he and a few friends were trying to dry out some photos, attempting to preserve a few of the many keepsakes the Berrys amassed over the last 40 years. They had deep roots in the area, with visitors often meeting at their house.

"If you were at their house, you were staying for dinner," Don Berry Jr. said.

That was just the kind of people they were, he said. Everyone knew them, and some neighbors even call Don Berry the mayor of Deep Creek, his son said. He was handy, and regularly fixed neighbors' lawnmowers, typically paying for new pieces himself.

"They're kind, caring people," Don Berry Jr. said. "They'd give to you and go without."

Losing everything

Don Berry remains in the hospital, though he is out of critical condition, his son said Thursday. He is awaiting a procedure, which is likely to be the first of many, his son said.

The explosion and subsequent fire left both with burns on roughly 20 percent of their bodies, with Faith Berry suffering more severe damage, Don Berry Jr. said.

On the day of the explosion, the younger Berry said his dad was installing a new stove that he had bought from a local appliance store after the old one had stopped working.

He tested the new appliance without any problems. But then everything changed.

"It's really scary how you can lose everything with a push of a button," Don Berry Jr. said.

He stressed that his dad installed the stove safely, and he said the fire department confirmed this. The fire department declined to comment, which is the usual practice when an investigation is ongoing.

Some residents had previously said they had smelled gas before the house exploded Sunday.

The Fire Department did not receive any calls regarding gas leaks from Lofurno Road or the surrounding streets in the weeks prior to the explosion, according to Lt. Anthony P. Barakat. There had been no calls about a gas leak from the area around the house since June of 2018, said Monique Finneran, a spokeswoman for Columbia Gas of Virginia.

Before the explosion, Don Berry Jr.'s mom had been sitting in a recliner, where she often sat. She was awaiting a knee replacement and had had several procedures recently. Sometimes, she used a walker to get around.

Both Faith and Don Berry were taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Faith Berry seemed like she was getting better Monday, her son said. Her heart had stopped twice and she was in an induced coma, but hospital personnel said she showed signs of improvement, her son said.

They said he should head home, and he did. He was hopeful, he said. But a few minutes before midnight on Monday, he got a call. His mom's heart had stopped again. She was gone.

Don Berry, who first gained consciousness Monday night, was devastated by the news, his son said.

And now, he has a long road of recovery ahead of him. He has insurance, but medical bills are still piling up, his son said, explaining it'll likely total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"He needs help -- a lot of it," his son said.

There will be more procedures, physical therapy and months of recovery.

Don Berry Jr. said he was immensely grateful for the neighbors who rushed into the burning house to try to save his parents -- it showed how loved they are.

"I know that block, that little end," he said. "The world could take a lesson from them."

___

(c)2018 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)

Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.