15 hurt when massive explosion rocks Wappingers Falls, N.Y. neighborhood
WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. -- A fiery explosion rocked the Village of Wappingers Falls in Dutchess County on Thursday, injuring more than a dozen people.
Four row homes on Brick Row were reduced to piles of debris, smoldering as crews rushed to help those injured.
"I thought maybe something hit the house or the kids, so I'm running through the house. I didn't know what it was, so we came running out here and we saw that it was awful," resident Marcia Ward said.
Watch Tony Aiello's report
"We hear the exploding, it shakes the building ... and then we run, with my brother, we run over here to help the people," construction worker Floriant Shabanaj said.
Shabanaj, a construction worker, is seen in dramatic video shot by his brother helping the injured. He also mans a hose and joins first responders in their protective gear working just feet from the smoke and flames.
He said he saw a firefighter trying to help a male victim.
"The firefighter was trying to pull him up, take him from the bricks, because the bricks after the explosion fall over on him," Shabanaj said.
Watch Naveen Dhaliwal's report
Ring camera video shows a Central Hudson crew working in front of the home on Brick Row just before the explosion, and then the moments as it goes up in flames.
"We had a total of 15 injuries. Five were to law enforcement and fire, which were minor, thank God. The critical injuiries were all to workers and residents of the building," Wappingers Falls Police Commissioner Paul Italiano said.
Officials say out of those 10 civilians injured, eight were adults and two were children. Three people, including a mother and child, were airlifted to Westchester Medical Center.
Watch Chopper 2 over the scene
As the community faces a large-scale cleanup, many are counting their blessings.
"Oh my God, we're so lucky it wasn't worse on our side. My mom was home," Chrissy Bell said. "The windows were blown out. She heard a shake. The door blew open. She looked out and the other building was gone."
Crews leveled the row homes Thursday evening. Power has been restored to most nearby areas, and officials say there is no immediate danger, but a lot of cleanup needs to be done.
Central Hudson Utilities is providing hotels and food vouchers to the people left homeless by the explosion, collapse and fire.
Officials with the utility say even though the digging of the gas line in front of the homes appears to have caused the fire and explosion, the exact cause is still under investigation.
