SAN ANTONIO – Residents displaced by a weekend house explosion on the city’s Northwest Side have begun returning to their homes, but for many, the emotional impact of the blast lingers.
The explosion, which happened Saturday night in the 7900 block of Laurel Bend, left one man with burns covering 45% to 50% of his upper body, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
Fire officials said the man was lighting something inside his home when it exploded. The exact cause remains under investigation.
“It sounded like a bomb,” said one resident who was evacuated and asked not to be identified. “I really thought it was a war or something.”
The woman said she ran outside to find her neighbor’s home engulfed in flames. She described the man, severely burned, using a water hose to try to put out the fire.
“I noticed the skin hanging from his arms,” she said. “I asked, ‘Oh my God, are you burned?’ And he said, ‘Please don’t look.’”
CPS Energy said in a statement that customers in the immediate area were evacuated for their safety and that the utility is providing temporary housing until residents can safely return. The statement added that CPS Energy has no further comment because a lawsuit was filed on Monday.
That lawsuit identifies the plaintiff as Fabian Xavier Garcia-Wells, who claims that CPS Energy is at fault and negligent in the matter. The victim’s attorney is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent any demolition of the property to preserve evidence for the investigation. The attorney is also requesting a jury trial.
The legal action comes on the heels of a separate case in which a Bexar County jury ordered CPS Energy to pay $109 million in damages for a 2021 home explosion on the East Side.
The Laurel Bend resident expressed continued anxiety about returning home.
“I asked them, ‘Am I 100 percent safe from this supposed gas leak?’ and they told me, ‘Yes,’” she said.
Still, she admitted she doesn’t feel at ease.
“I’m afraid if I go light a candle, boom, life’s over,” she said. “I’ll be moving from this neighborhood as soon as I can.”
SAFD said its investigation into the cause of the explosion is ongoing.
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