Two injured as island home wrecked by blast
Elderly resident taken to hospital after suspected gas explosion
AN elderly woman and a boy were taken to hospital yesterday after the house they were in was destroyed in a gas explosion.
The blast happened in Brae, Shetland, around 2pm. It tore the building open, leaving rooms exposed and furniture, rubble and belongings strewn around the street.
The property is in Ockragarth, a cul-desac that forms part of a housing estate known locally as Toy Town.
The teenage boy is reported to have been in the bedroom when the explosion happened but managed to ‘roll out’ of the collapsed structure with only minor injuries.
Neighbours helped the woman, who is in her eighties, from the house and cared for her while waiting for the ambulance.
A doctor from the Brae surgery also attended.
The woman, who has been named locally as Peggy Griffiths, was said to be in a serious condition, although her injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
Nearby residents spoke of hearing the blast. John Johnson, 52, lives in a house overlooking the property destroyed in the explosion. He told The Shetland Times: ‘I just heard the bang and saw the house expanding with the rubble all falling down. I phoned the fire brigade, I think quite a few folk did.’
He said the elderly resident was in the house at the time, while the teenager was upstairs.
Another local resident, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘I just came to my door. I heard the explosion, I ran out and I saw this. It’s too tragic.’
A second neighbour, Georgia Smith, who lives about 100 yards from the scene, said she and her father Phil were enjoying the sunshine in their garden when the explosion occurred.
Describing the events, Mr Smith said: ‘It was just after 2.10pm. I was just sat here, having a cup of tea, and it just went “kaboom!”. I assumed it was gas.’
Miss Smith said: ‘The house is completely destroyed inside. It’s like a bombsite. It’s a miracle they are both alive.’
She also told BBC Scotland: ‘We heard this ginormous bang. My dad instantly thought “gas”.
‘I came running round and saw what was left of the house. The young chap was in his bedroom. He came rolling out, covered in everything. [The woman] was in the kitchen. It looks like she took the brunt of it.’
Reports said it took 20 to 25 minutes for the first fire engine to arrive at the scene and a further 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive in Brae.
Firefighters were later seen dousing the building to keep the dust down from the collapsed structure’s asbestos roof.
Propane gas is thought to have caused the blast and then a blaze. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said four appliances, from Lerwick, Scalloway, Brae and Hillswick, attended. An SFRS spokesman said: ‘The explosion led to a fire within the house. Around 90 per cent of the house has gone.’
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We dispatched an ambulance and a patient in her eighties was transported to Gilbert Bain Hospital.’
‘It’s a miracle they are both alive’