A house in a Derby street this week exploded – sending out ‘earthquake-like’ shockwaves.
Emergency services were first called to reports of a possible gas explosion at a terraced property in Eden Street, Alvaston, at around 7.24pm on Tuesday.
Police, fire crews and gasworkers remained at the scene more than 17 hours later.
One man was seriously injured and remains in hospital and a dog was also found with injuries overnight.
Residents in the area went from enjoying a normal Tuesday night to, within minutes, being at the heart of a serious incident – with some residents evacuated with no idea when they’d be allowed back again.
One of these residents was Christina Harrison, who has lived in Eden Street, just four doors from the incident, for nine years.
She described the terrifying ordeal, saying she thought the explosion happened in their house, and now waits for permission from the police to enter her home once again. ‘I’ve never heard anything like it before,’ she said.
‘We’d just had tea and I was with my daughter sorting the kitchen out – I’m so lucky she was with me at the time. The bang went off and I just didn’t know where to run.
The house blast on Tuesday sent debris flying into the street in Derby
The destruction caused by the gas explosion seen from overhead
‘I thought if I ran in any direction the house would collapse, I was sure that the explosion had taken place in our house itself.
‘We made our way into the living room and out onto the street, that’s when we realised that someone’s house had essentially exploded.
‘The damage was really bad – the whole house is destroyed. All I could think about last night was the poor family affected by this. It’s just a horrible thing to go through.’
Ms Harrison said that her daughter now feels unsafe in her own home and has been unable to go to school, adding: ‘We were evacuated last night at around 9pm and we tried to get a hotel but we couldn’t, they were all booked. Luckily we had a friend who offered us a place to stay.
‘My daughter couldn’t go to school because she was too frightened and she keeps telling me that she doesn’t feel safe.
‘Now we just have to wait to be let inside our home again, but it’s been 15 hours and we are still waiting.’
The blast caused huge damage to the property and left debris all over the road
The entire front of the house collapsed and roof panels were sent flying
Mary Stocking, 76, of Lincoln Avenue, said: ‘I heard something last night but I didn’t think anything of it, I just thought it could be anything but I feel a bit naive now. You just never think these sorts of things will happen so close to home.
‘My prayers are with everyone who was affected. I should imagine the people living on the road are quite shaken as well.
‘The firefighters were there within minutes and then loads of ambulances came, so it must be severe.
‘It’s such a tight-knit community, we all look after each other and I’m sure it’ll be the same in the next few days.’
Another local resident, Gill Jennings, who visits the shops nearby every morning, said the explosion ‘made the ground shake’ from her home on Nunsfield Drive nearly half a mile away.
She said: ‘We were sitting at home watching TV, I’d put the kettle on and I just remember feeling a shake underneath my feet, followed by a bang.
‘The whole street went outside to see if everyone was OK. I thought it was a car backfiring outside the house, but I didn’t think it would’ve been so far away. It’s so shocking, we were all just petrified. I hope everyone is alright.’
Another resident said: ‘It felt like the ground was moving, it was like an earthquake. All our electric went off for a moment and we had to turn it back on again at the fuse board.’
Video footage showed the blast in the reflection of a neighbouring window
Smoke could then be seen coming from the property following the explosion
The A6 London Road was closed overnight while crews worked ‘tirelessly’ to ensure the safety of those in the local area, according to Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service group manager, David Diggins, who added that teams are expected to remain on-scene throughout the night and into Wednesday (June 12).
Speaking at the scene on Tuesday morning, he said: ‘We’ll be working with demolition teams and building control and hope that will progress fairly shortly. What we do know is that there are impacts to the wider community.
‘We will need to isolate the gas and electrics but we are supporting those individuals on Eden Street.
‘We hope that by the end of the day we’ll have a lot of the work done to potentially get them back into their properties. This is a prime example of where things can go wrong in the home. There may be impacts in the short term to gas supplies.
‘What the future looks like is unknown at the moment and Cadent will be able to update us once they’ve been able to get into the ground, cap some gas and then update the next multi-agency meeting.’
Derbyshire police have since confirmed that a joint investigation into the cause of the explosion is due to start on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the force said: ‘A joint police and fire service investigation into the cause of an explosion at a property in Derby is due to start today.
‘We were called to the incident in Eden Street at 7.24pm on Tuesday. One man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
‘A dog with some injuries was also rescued from the property. An investigation into the cause of the explosion will be begin later today. Eden Street remains closed.’
