SURVIVORS of a gas explosion in Yate have learned that they could be homeless for up to two years.
Four of the row of five houses in Lancaster Road that were damaged in the explosion and fire on April will have to be demolished and rebuilt, insurers say, with the fifth also requiring major structural work.
A meeting was held by the insurers, loss adjusters and a structural engineer in late May, when the families were given the news.
One resident told the Voice she is still suffering flashbacks – and to add insult to injury, her home has been looted.
One home was completely destroyed and others left uninhabitable in the blast on April 29.
Three people were seriously injured and taken to hospital, while a fourth was treated at the scene by ambulance staff.
Traumatic
Deb Cainey, who lived next door to the house where the explosion happened, told the Voice that before demolition begins, planning permission has to be sought for the rebuild.
This could take up to 12 weeks and the build “might take 18 months to two years”.
Deb said: “It is very traumatic. I’ve been in my home for 36 years.”
She was in bed watching Fireman Sam with her 14-month-old grandson at the time of the explosion and fled the house in her pyjamas.
Deb said: “You have nothing – no make-up, all your memories gone. It’s a lot to come to terms with.
“If I stop to think what I’ve lost, I’m in tears.
“The first night I was manic – I have never felt anything like that before. You don’t expect to be homeless at 60.”
Deb said that while she, her husband Rob and son Rich hadn’t sustained any physical injuries, she is still having flashbacks over a month on, and is having therapy, while her son “is still having nightmares and jumping out of bed”.
Looting
To add to the family’s problems, their home has been burgled.
Deb said: “People have been there looting on several nights. The council is putting up CCTV and an eight-foot fence. I have no idea what they have taken as I am not allowed in.
“It makes me sick to the pit of my stomach. It is just hideous. How low can you go, when we have lost everything?”
Rob is a driving instructor: his car and his son’s were written off by flying debris.
Deb said: “Rob had just paid for a year’s insurance and the insurance company is not going to refund him anything – they say it’s a fault claim as it was parked on the street.”
The community has continued to rally and support the blast victims, offering shelter and clothing and setting up fundraisers and events.
A fundraiser for the Caineys, set up by a family friend on the GoFundMe website, has raised more than £4,600.
It can be found here.
‘Miracle’ that dog survived
The Caineys and their two dogs are currently staying with friends, while Margaret Robson, who lived the other side of the house at the centre of the explosion, is living with her sister.
Her granddaughter Natalie Gravell said: “We have been struggling to find a place appropriate for my Nan to say.
“She doesn’t qualify for any help from the council [and] the insurance company are looking for a place.
“The community have rallied together – the thought and care that has gone into the fundraiser for my nan is amazing.”
Pinkers Country Store in Iron Acton, where Natalie works, held a tombola fundraiser in May that has raised more than £1,750 for Margaret, who was only left with the nightwear she was wearing.
Margaret was pulled to safety by near neighbours Caralyn Jones and Luke Wood but her dog Freddie was injured and missing for over six hours.
Natalie said: “It really is a miracle he survived it. He does sadly have some bad burns but he’s still here.”
Margaret spent five days in hospital and Natalie said: “She was very confused after the explosion and struggles to talk about it; she does remember being trapped under the wall and Luke and Caralyn pulling the wall off of her and carrying her down the stairs.”