Three hurt in Rodeo gas explosion

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Nov 10, 2009 | by Karl Fischer

An explosion blew the wall off a vacant apartment in Rodeo and sparked a fire Tuesday morning that injured three, including a 12- year-old.

The blast, likely sparked by a natural gas leak, tore out a second-floor wall in a four-plex on the 1300 block of Mariposa Street and left it on the lawn about 1:25 a.m.

"We all heard the bang. The building shook like it was coming apart, and we all thought God was callin' us home," said Nancy Calhoun, who lives nearby. She and her son, James Calhoun, "were both afraid to look out the window. It felt that close."

Rodeo-Hercules and Contra Costa fire district crews arrived at the Bayo Vista public housing complex to find an apartment engulfed, with flames reaching up through the roof. Firefighters and neighbors helped evacuate the adjoining apartments.

"There was some fear of collapse," said Emily Hopkins, spokeswoman for the Contra Costa Fire District.

A two-alarm response brought the fire under control a few minutes after 2 a.m.

James Calhoun helped three people in an adjoining apartment, his mother said.

"I told him not to go out there," she said. "But he said, 'There's kids in there, Mama!' And he ran down there."

Nobody lived at the apartment where the fire began, authorities said, and investigators looked for its cause Tuesday afternoon -- possibly an accidental fire touched off by squatters.

The victims, two adults and a child, all lived in an adjacent apartment. Ambulances took all of them to the hospital, Hopkins said, but none was seriously injured.

Several people were displaced, and emergency workers called the American Red Cross to help with temporary housing.

Nancy Calhoun, who minds her 11 grandchildren a short way from the fire, says the blast shook her in more ways than one, but she's thankful. It could have been much worse.

"All I can say is that God is good," she said. "God is good."

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728. Follow him at Twitter.com/ kfischer510.