Corning, LA – CORNING Life is slowly getting back to normal in the Corning neighborhood that was rocked by a natural gas explosion Friday.
But two men remain hospitalized with serious injuries, and several other residents in the vicinity are still feeling the effects of a blast that obliterated the house at 48 Wilson St. on the city’s Northside.
Robert Young, 86, and his grandson Paul Young, 38, remained in guarded condition Sunday at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
Robert Young’s son, also named Paul, who lives in Toledo, Ohio, rushed to Rochester on Friday after he got the call about the explosion.
He is hopeful his father and his son will be OK.
My son is doing pretty well. He will come out of it pretty well, but the biggest thing for him will be the emotional (impact), Paul Young Sr. said Sunday.
Dad is not doing so well. He’s having a rough go of it. We’re dealing with it one day at a time.
A lot of people have helped out.
Authorities say Robert Young and his grandson were installing a water heater when they accidentally caused a natural gas leak, which was then ignited by a propane torch.
The force of the blast not only turned the house into a pile of rubble, it damaged several buildings in the area and scattered debris several blocks away.
Some homes, including those on either side of Young’s house, are considered uninhabitable at this time, and many others sustained various degrees of damage.
Four doors down, the house at 56 Wilson St. has a boarded-up window on the side, but the damage is much more extensive than that, homeowner Brian Mizzoni said.
You couldn’t tell from the street, but seven windows are totally broken. We have cracks in bedroom walls and kitchen walls from the concussion, Mizzoni said. In our garage, we lost windows and the overhead door is off its foundation. Amazingly enough, all our glass on our shelves never fell. Nothing fell off our walls.
Mizzoni, who contacted his insurance agent Sunday, feels lucky in another way.
His family and another neighboring family were on vacation when the blast occurred.
We’re very fortunate in a way. Our kids play outside in the summertime, Mizzoni said. The other family has six small kids. They were on vacation, too, or they would have been in the pool or on the sidewalk.