‘A pile of debris’: 4 Broward homes deemed unsafe after explosion, city officials say
Four homes are inhabitable after officials say an explosion in a South Florida neighborhood leveled a house, wrecked others and sent two women and two kids to the hospital earlier this week.
The women, including the children’s grandmother, and a girl remained hospitalized Thursday morning while an elementary school-age boy has since been released to family members, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane told the Miami Herald.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office on Thursday identified the adult women as Marcelle Ledix, 66, and Rodeline Joseph, 40. Ledix, Joseph and the two kids were found in the rubble with burn injuries and broken bones, Kane said.
They were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood; from there, the women and the girl were transported to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami-Dade County.
Among the West Park homes destroyed in the early Tuesday morning blast was the one that Dominique Wright shared with his mother and younger brother. Their home shares a yard with the leveled house.
“Our entire street has been damaged,” Wright told the Miami Herald on Wednesday evening.
READ MORE: Two children, two adults hospitalized after blast levels their home, firefighters say
The loud explosion at a house, 5241 SW 20th St., followed by a mushroom-like fiery cloud, broke windows and doors of neighboring homes around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
City of West Park officials confirmed Thursday that three homes on the 5200 block and one home on the 5100 block of Southwest 20th Street were declared unsafe.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal.Kane said Tuesday it could be gas-related.
“The home was completely destroyed,” Kane told reporters Tuesday. “This type of damage is consistent with a gas explosion.”
Wright wasn’t home at the time of the blast, but his 26-year-old brother and 57-year-old mother were.
His mother, Wright said, usually lies on the couch to watch TV after coming back from her nursing job. But that day, a strange smell made her feel like “she was kind of out of it.”
She went to bed but soon woke up to Wright’s young brother screaming for her get out of the house, Wright said.
Wright’s brother was awake in his room watching TV at the time of the blast. He tried to rush down the hallway to get his mother but wasn’t able to due to piled up debris. He climbed out of a window that had shattered.
When he reached her bedroom window, he found his mother with a piece of sheetrock on top on her body, Wright said. She pushed it off and left through the window.
Wright’s mother and his brother were treated for minor injuries, he said. His brother got stitches for a cut on the hand — and his mother is still shaken up from the incident.
On Tuesday, Wright shared a GoFundMe page asking loved ones and community members to help the family rebuild their lives as many in the closely-knit neighborhood focus on moving forward.
“Our once-happy home is now a pile of debris, and we face a long and challenging journey ahead.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2023 at 5:46 PM.
