Two men survive North Carolina home explosion, several pets missing
By Hannah Mackenzie
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HENDERSON COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — The Henderson County Fire Marshal’s office is working to determine the cause of a home explosion off Kyles Creek Road.
According to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, it happened just after 1 p.m. Wednesday at a home on Morrill Drive.
On Thursday, the Skyview 13 drone was able to capture the extent of the damage. The two-story home which once sat atop the small mountain had been leveled. Clothing and insulation were caught in tree limbs, while charred belongings – some of which were unrecognizable – were strewn as far as the eye could see.
Family members of the woman who owned the home said she wasn’t there at the time, but a father and son who were staying with her miraculously survived.
The men made it to neighbor Ronald Van Blarcum’s house after digging themselves out of the rubble.
“The younger of the two seemed to be in a little better mental shape than his dad was,” Van Blarcum said. “Both had their own individual injuries.”
Bloody and injured, they looked like something out of a movie, he said.
“For a split second, I thought it was some kind of hoax or something,” Van Blarcum said.
As of Thursday night, both men were being treated at a burn center in Augusta, Georgia.
“I think they’ve got a long road ahead of them,” Van Blarcum said. “From my limited medical experience, it was clear their wounds were pretty severe.”
Another neighbor shuttled first responders up and down the steep, winding, single-lane dirt road as they worked to find out what happened.
According to the homeowner’s family, several pets are still missing and at least one was killed in the explosion.
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