At least 4 homes unlivable after West Park house explosion; officials assess scope of blast

The gas explosion that turned a West Park home to rubble has left at least four homes unlivable and numerous others within a few-block span damaged, city officials said Wednesday. They’re still trying to determine exactly how many people now need help.

Two adults and two children were hospitalized with serious to life-threatening injuries in the blast Tuesday that obliterated their home in the 5200 block of Southwest 20th Street. Reverberation could be felt as far as Hollywood, over 3 miles away from the house.

Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane said Tuesday that three of the four patients were taken to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami while one remained at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.

District 1 Commissioner Katrina Touchstone said that one of the four, a boy, was being released from Memorial Regional Hospital Wednesday evening. A young girl, her mother and an older woman are the others who were injured and who remain at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

West Park officials and an American Red Cross South Florida Region representative said four homes have been “red-tagged” as of Wednesday, meaning they’re currently not safe to live in. Touchstone said about 20 others, including a church, were damaged in some way, including shattered windows, blown-off doors, cracked drywall and belongings knocked down.

Touchstone said she felt shaking from the blast, “like an earthquake,” at her home a block away. It was strong enough to shatter some homes’ hurricane-proof windows.

“There’s a mental health component to it,” Touchstone said of the immediate neighbors whose homes were damaged. ” … So we need to be able to provide resources for them to get some mental health assistance. It’s a traumatic situation.”

Mayor Felicia Brunson said city officials canvassed four different blocks in the area Wednesday to hand out forms for people to document any damage. They will determine how many people have been affected and what local and state resources may be available.

“We had people (canvassing) on the street before, the street after and up and down the street because the blast went far and wide,” Brunson said.

Tiffany Gonzalez, a spokesperson for American Red Cross South Florida Region, said the organization is currently working on two cases related to the explosion. Of the four red-tagged homes, one was under construction and was not occupied. Gonzalez said the family whose home was the source of the explosion is one of the two open cases.

The family is new to the community, Brunson said.

The State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the explosion.