Dumfries, Va. –– While everyone else stood in amazement after a house in Dumfries exploded Monday, three neighbors led the charge to pull out a man who was trapped underneath the rubble.
A home under renovation at 19117 Wayne Drive exploded about 8:15 a.m.
When rescue crews arrived, they said there was a major smell of natural gas in the area.
Crews shut off the gas and quickly learned that not only was the gas the cause of the explosion, a man that had been inside the home had already been pulled out.
“We ran in and yelled ‘is there anybody in there,’ and we heard something so we said ‘man, you got to keep talking to us so we can find you,’” said 22-year-old Jose Toro Ortiz.
He and two others, Elizer Ortiz Rodriquez and Gerry Glynn, who all live in the neighborhood, rushed into the demolished home after they heard the explosion and found the 45-year-old man still trapped inside.
The blast rocked the neighborhood, leaving windows on adjacent homes blown out, pieces of rood and wood on neighbors’ cars and debris in the street.
While inside the remnants of the home, Ortiz said he saw some boards move and that’s when he knew someone was still alive.
“Hey, we got him up here!’ I shouted,” said Ortiz.
The three men pulled the victim from the rubble and helped him outside of the home.
Ortiz said man was dazed but was able to walk out of the rubble.
The victim was flown to a hospital with burns and trauma to his chest. Fire officials said he is expected to make a full recovery.
Ortiz said he didn’t think much before taking action; it was just something he felt he had to do.
“I hope I did a good thing,” he said.
