Saved by a fridge
Mother’s miracle escape as she is protected from rubble when gas blast wrecks her home
Susan Shepherd, 40, was covered in rubble and had burns all over her body but the appliance protected her from the full impact of the blast.
The explosion, which could be heard more than a mile away, obliterated her 1950s semidetached home and ripped off part of her neighbour’s roof and wall.
Miss Shepherd, who was in a serious but stable condition last night, was taken to hospital and placed in intensive care.
She had been in the kitchen of her £90,000 house in Ryhope, Sunderland, when disaster struck at 8.50am yesterday. Her sister, Tracy Judson, 52, said: ‘The fridge has fallen on top of her and saved her life, she’s absolutely fine... She’s got minor burns to her back, face and arms, and her hip might need stitching.
‘There must be a god somewhere – how the hell can anyone survive that explosion?’
Miss Shepherd’s nine-year- old daughter Jasmine avoided the blast as she was away with her father, and her 19-year- old son Kyle had already left for work.
Miss Shepherd’s niece Jacqueline Seamen, 38, said: ‘Not many people would have survived something like that.
‘You dread what to think if her daughter had been there. Susan had loads of rubble on top of her and had burns on her hands and body.’ Concerned neighbours ran to help after the blast.
David Mushens, 43, said: ‘I was one of the first on the scene.
‘I tried to help, I was shouting for a response. There are four that live there but only the woman was in. I was worried about getting the kids out.’
Tracey Pounder, 51, added: ‘I heard an almighty bang. Half of the semi has gone and next door is wrecked.’
Sean Hughes, 40, heard the explosion more than a mile away. He said: ‘I saw my window move and the house shook.’
The cause is not yet known, although one neighbour suggested the pipes may have been corroded by a substance used by engineers when they were fitted. Northern Gas Networks said its engineers were investigating ‘as a matter of urgency’. North East Ambulance Service said: ‘We rescued and treated one patient. We have taken the casualty to the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary.’
One neighbour said there had been three gas leaks on the street after Gentoo, a local housing association, changed the pipes.
She said: ‘It is serious. You wonder when the next one is going to happen.’
Graham Gowland, executive director of property at Gentoo Group, said: ‘We are doing everything that we can and are working closely with the emergency services and all other parties involved while investigations are under way.’ A MOTHER of two was saved from certain death by a fridge that fell on top of her when a gas explosion flattened her house.