When a house exploded in Deep Creek, neighbors rushed in to rescue the residents

Oct. 15--CHESAPEAKE -- When Joseph Gandia went out to his backyard for a quick break Sunday evening, he felt heat from next door.

His neighbor's house had exploded. Part of the home was launched across the street in the burst.

As fire quickly engulfed the older couple's ranch house in Deep Creek, Gandia and his wife ran in to try to save their neighbors.

"I did what I did because I love them," he said.

He knew where Faith Berry would be -- inside the living room in her recliner. She's disabled and can't move much, he said.

But when the Gandias got inside, they realized the interior of the house was destroyed, with rubble all over the place. The couple couldn't see her in the living room.

"It looked like a bomb exploded in the house," said Amanda Gandia, who often took Berry to the hospital for scheduled visits.

Joseph Gandia lifted a piece of the ceiling that had collapsed, and then he saw Berry's hands moving through the rubble. Other neighbors jumped in to help lift debris to try to get her out.

"They're like family," Joseph Gandia said. "It's like seeing your grandmother on fire."

The natural gas explosion rocked the close community in Deep Creek, where the Berrys have lived for the past three decades, according to several residents.

"There ain't no one on this road that don't know Don and Faith Berry," Joseph Gandia said.

At least nine people were injured in the fire on the 2500 block of Lofurno Road, near the corner of George Washington Highway North and South Military Highway.

Don and Faith Berry, the homeowners, remained in critical condition at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on Monday. Six others suffered minor injuries, including two firefighters who were taken to Chesapeake General Hospital, according to Lt. Anthony P. Barakat, a spokesman for the Fire Department. Another adult went to the hospital with unknown injuries.

Brent Archer, the president of Colombia Gas of Virginia who was at the house Monday morning, said he's never seen an explosion like this in his 10 years working in the state.

"It's very rare for something to occur like this," he said.

Daniel Heffstaetter was inside watching the Dallas Cowboys handily beat the Jacksonville Jaguars when he heard the "humongous boom."

At first, he thought it was an earthquake. Several shelves and pictures were knocked off his walls, and his M&M collectibles were flung all over the living room.

Without shoes or a shirt, he went out in just his boxers to see what happened.

"I came out here and it was just mayhem," he said, realizing that the house kitty-corner to his had exploded. Some residents heard the bang from blocks away.

Immediately, Heffstaetter, a Navy veteran, joined the rescue. He ran over to a group of neighbors trying to help the two homeowners, whom he has known for roughly two decades. He said he elevated the older man's legs and kept him alert before emergency services arrived.

Firefighters reached the house at roughly 5:45 p.m., and the scene was under control 45 minutes later, according to Barakat. The fire was completely extinguished at about 9 p.m. Columbia Gas of Virginia reported that the scene was safe around 10:10 p.m.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

The Gandias said they smelled gas about a day before the house was leveled, and Joseph Gandia said he was planning to call the company on Monday.

A preliminary investigation done by Columbia Gas of Virginia indicated the company's facilities, like the main and service lines, did not cause the incident, said Ken Stammen, a spokesman for Columbia Gas' parent company, NiSource.

Archer said Columbia Gas of Virginia tested everything in the neighborhood Sunday night, and determined there were no issues. He said the company is still piping gas into every home in the neighborhood, except where the explosion happened and the two houses on either side. It took the company roughly two hours to stop the flow of gas into the home Sunday night because workers had to wait for the fire department to grant access to the property.

With fire trucks and police vehicles still lighting up the street, Joseph Gandia, 36, took stock of his home after the fire was extinguished. The side of his house briefly caught ablaze, and his first floor was largely flooded. On Monday morning, he said his home had been ruled uninhabitable because it was no longer structurally sound.

"My whole house is just ruined," he said.

The Gandias, who have rented their house for five years, and their two girls were displaced by the fire. But the Red Cross helped them get a room at a nearby hotel. An online fundraiser was started for the family on GoFundMe.

Joseph Gandia said it could've been worse -- he was unharmed.

"I don't know how I'm standing here."

Staff writer Ryan Murphy contributed to the story.

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