January 22, 2025

By  NICOLE LINSALATA

The blast was heard by neighbors in West Park in the middle night on Tuesday. Multiple homes and vehicles in the vicinity were damaged.

I heard a loud explosion. “It was like a earthquake,” Adrian Mowat, a neighbor, said.

The destruction of the area was evident as the sun rose.

Stephen Grey said, “We’ve got debris on trees and the wall of a neighbour has been blown over.”

According to the City of West Park, four properties have been declared unsound structures under Florida’s building codes and by the official building inspector. All four properties received contact details for the Red Cross, according to West Park.

Rubble was everywhere around. It looked very similar to the inside of the house. The blast left a tub in the middle of the chaos, unenclosed by anything. A charred bed was also visible.

One witness said, “If you went into the house and looked at it you would say how anyone can survive?”

Annette Brown, however, did. Brown, who is a nurse and has been living in the home for more than a decade now, moved to her bedroom just before her neighbor’s house exploded. Sheetrock was thrown at her.

She was unable to understand what happened. Tia Thomas said that Brown was “knocked out and passed out”.

The roof has collapsed on her. James Williams, Brown’s uncle said: “I’m amazed she’s still alive.”

Williams stated that Brown’s son, an adult, saved her by moving rubble in order to free her. Williams said that the son broke a window in order to get out, and cut his hand. He was still able to bring his family safely to safety. The family set up a GoFundMe account to cover damages.

Glenn Seymour’s window, a few blocks away was blown.

Seymour said, “It was loud and woke me up.”

Shere Whitaker’s window had also been blown out.

Whitaker replied, “That was way down the road. I had no idea what it was.” I was checking on everyone in the area to make sure they were all okay.

Residents of the West Park area are cleaning their neighborhood, bit by bit, just like Williams’ niece.

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