Owner Of Home That Exploded In SW OKC Talks About Incident

The owner of the home that was completely destroyed in a natural gas explosion on Thursday is speaking about the events that led up to the unbelievable scene.

Friday, January 4th 2013, 11:33 pm

By: News 9


The owner of the home that was completely destroyed in a natural gas explosion on Thursday is speaking about the events that led up to the unbelievable scene.

Kate Purcell was baking cookies when her home was leveled by the explosion. Looking at the video from Bob Mills SkyNews 9, it's a miracle anyone could survive.

Only on News 9, Purcell talked about the terrifying experience. Purcell says she is still very shaken by this ordeal. The blast even caused her 91-year-old neighbor to become trapped inside her home.

Right across the street from a home that was literally blown apart, a family at another home is grateful their mother is alive and well.

1/3/2013 Related Story: Explosion Levels Home In Southwest OKC

"We came down here, just as quick as we heard the explosion, saw the house, came to get her grandma, she was trapped behind the door," said the son-in-law of a neighbor, David Lane. 

Lane lives a block away from where the explosion happened. He says his 91-year-old mother-in-law could not get out the house because the front door was blown to a point where it wouldn't open at all.

"So I had to bust the door off the hinge," Lane said.

1/3/2013 Related Story: Evacuated OKC Resident React To Natural Gas Explosion

Lane says he could hear gas spewing out of the gas line across the street, as they quickly walked their grandmother to safety. In the midst of the chaos, he says his wife yelled at an ONG worker that a woman was trapped inside across the street.

"She said, ‘The old lady is in that house, she never leaves, she's in the house'," Lane said.

That woman was Kate Purcell, who escaped from this with only a few scratches on her cheek.

1/4/2013 Related Story: Investigators Working To Discover Cause Of SW OKC Explosion

"I am hurting all over from head to toe, and I'm very sore, and I'm bruised," Purcell said.

Purcell says her biggest loss is her 9-year-old cat, Purcy, who died in the explosion.

"They found my cat, and he's gone. He died instantly. My cat is gone. He's okay. He was my best friend. So he's not suffering anymore," Purcell said.

1/4/2013 Related Story: Neighbors In SW OKC Explosion Neighborhood Still In Disbelief 

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