FIREFIGHTERS have been commended for saving a family after an explosion in their home – as details of the dramatic rescue were revealed for the first time.
Crews entered the house on Mont Pinel in St Saviour minutes after a blast severely damaged the inside of the property and left huge cracks in the front exterior wall.
Amid concerns of a possible second explosion or a collapse of the building, firefighters found the two parents trapped under rubble on the ground floor and two children, aged two and five, upstairs.
Firefighters quickly rescued the father before wrapping the children in blankets and carrying them out through a rear first-floor window.
The mother was finally taken to safety as the building started to move and fears grew that it was about to collapse.
Forty-five minutes later the front wall gave way – leaving the children’s bunkbed clearly visible through the huge hole in the side of the house.
Both parents were yesterday still being treated in hospital. The children escaped unharmed.
During a press conference yesterday, Station Commander Ryan Hall, who was incident commander in charge of the operation, praised the “courage and bravery” of the rescuers.
Visibly proud of his crew, and holding back tears as he praised them, he said: “The Fire and Rescue Service and myself personally are immensely proud of our firefighters and the work that they do.
“Being a firefighter, when people run away from danger, we are inherently running towards it to protect our community, to save life and it does make me very proud.”
He described how the home was so badly damaged when crews arrived just after 11pm on Wednesday that they had to use ladders to get over a wall at the back of the garden, and then climb in through windows on the ground and first floors.
“This was a difficult extraction due to the damage to the building and there were concerns that it may collapse at any time,” he said.
Mr Hall added that the mother needed “greater assistance” and added: “During the final stages of [the woman’s] rescue, we felt movement and started to see signs of further deterioration and the decision was that we needed to evacuate the property immediately.”
He added: “The quick actions of the initial responding crews should be commended. This was a challenging situation for emergency services, and I thank them for their quick thinking and bravery.”
In a statement yesterday afternoon, Island Energy said: “Working with the emergency services our engineers have now completed all testing at the site and surrounding areas. This has included sewers and all aspects of the gas network. Our findings show there is zero trace of gas.
“Island Energy has been given the green light to fill in the excavation outside the property so the relevant authorities can make the site secure, and they will continue to investigate the house to ascertain what caused the explosion.
“Our thoughts are with the residents affected and we will continue to provide any support required to the authorities.”
A total of 19 residents were evacuated and were receiving support and accommodation from the government. Structural engineers attended the area on Thursday 27 June and are working to make the property safe to enter.
Mr Hall said that investigations would begin once the site had been made safe. Experts from the UK may be brought in to help with the investigation.
