Jon Hand, and Will Cleveland

Democrat and Chronicle

Home explosion occurred within two minutes of firefighters arriving on scene.

Firefighters and the two elderly residents of a Henrietta home on Tuesday morning narrowly escaped an explosion that leveled a house and was caused by a broken gas line.

No one was injured in the blast that occurred just moments after firefighters arrived at 134 Buckley Place just before 8:20 a.m.

Henrietta Fire Chief Jim Comstock said that Eugene Upshaw, one of the residents of the home, called 911 to report the odor of gas in the house and was waiting outside for firefighters when they are arrived. According to Comstock, Eugene Upshaw said that his foot has slipped off the gas pedal of his car as he drove into his driveway. He struck his garage, including his gas meter inside the garage.

►MORE: Firefighter says blast would've been deadly 60 seconds earlier

Henrietta Fire Lt. Tom Hayes, one of the first three firefighters on the scene, said he could smell natural gas and could hear the hissing sound from a leak. The decision was made immediately to contact RG&E. Hayes said he began to walk Eugene Upshaw eastward up the street as a safety precaution toward a car where Upshaw's wife, Louise, was waiting. They were only about 40 feet away — standing in the road outside the home — when the house blew up.

"The front of the structure was clear," Hayes said. "And as I was faced to the left there, I heard the boom and could kind of feel it. It wasn’t a loud boom. It was kind of muffled in my ears. I think most of the blast went out the rear of the structure, because that’s where most of the debris was."

The explosion occurred within two minutes of firefighters arriving on scene.

►MORE: Son chokes back tears: 'My mom and dad are still here’

"I’m grateful that it didn’t go 60 seconds earlier," Hayes said. If it had gone two minutes earlier, Mr. Upshaw was standing in front of his door, and like we said, this could’ve been a totally different situation in just minutes."

Comstock said witnesses described the explosion as the roof blowing off, the sides collapsing in, and the roof falling back down on the walls.

"This day turned out a lot better than it could have," Comstock said. "Instead of sitting here having a press conference right now, we could be up at the burn center checking on firefighters, or worse yet, at the funeral home making arrangements for firefighter or civilian fatalities. That being said, with all else that happened today, it was a good day for me. The biggest nightmare you have as a fire chief is something happening to your firefighters."

After the gas leak and the electrical issues were properly dealt with, the fire was under control by 9:17 a.m, Comstock said. It took 30 firefighters to get the fire under control.

►MORE: The Big Picture: See Henrietta blast from the air

Monroe County Fire Coordinator Sam DeRosa said a severed natural gas line caused the explosion. "We found a three quarter-inch service line, located on the north wall of the house, floor level, completely sheared off," DeRosa said.

DeRosa added, "I’m not certain we’ll ever come up with which ignition source came into play first here" because of the devastation of the scene. He said, "The vehicle came in nose first into the garage and he struck a couple of objects in his garage, most specifically a charcoal grill and a gas-powered lawnmower."

Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. spokesman Richard Meier said the company had several crews on scene and was working with firefighters. An army of RG&E vehicles were on the scene, including a backhoe for digging through debris.

Comstock said that it's not unusual for gas meters to be inside garages in raised ranches, many of which were built in the 1950s and '60s. He noted that only one other home sustained damage, the residence at 134 Buckley, directly to the east of the home explosion.

That home sustained some minor exterior damage, including some melted siding. The explosion didn't break the windows of that house.

Neighbors from several blocks away said they heard and felt two explosions, and could feel their houses shake and windows rattle.

"I was eating breakfast and the house shook and the windows shook. It was a loud explosion," Harley Dixon said. "I thought it was my house."

He and Art Keeler, who lives next door to 134 Buckley Place, said his "knees shook" when he felt the explosion. Other neighbors said there were children waiting for a school bus 30 feet away just moments before the explosion occurred.

Kerry Upshaw was on his way to work in Livingston County when his mother, Louise Upshaw, called to tell him there was an explosion at her house but she and his father, Eugene, were out and safe.

Son chokes back tears: 'My mom and dad are still here'

"They lost everything, but that's all right, they are safe," Kerry Upshaw said, at times fighting back tears. He could see the flames from Interstate 390 — others reported seeing smoke from as far away as Pittsford — on his way back to the home, but he knew they were OK.

"I knew their house was gone, but that was material, my mom and dad are still here and that's what matters," he said, adding that Eugene Upshaw was taken to Rochester General Hospital as a precaution. Louise accompanied her husband in the ambulance, but didn't require medical attention.

Louise, a retired postal worker, and Eugene, retired from Eastman Kodak Co., met in high school and are now in their 80s, their son said.

"They have lived in the home for more than 40 years. They lost everything that was in that house."

"Now they'll be coming home to live with me, we're lucky in that way that they don't have to go through Red Cross or anything to get emergency shelter. I got my house so they can come live with me, so, we're good."

JHAND@Gannnett.com

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com

' More Coverage:

Son chokes back tears: 'My mom and dad are still here'

In Photos: House explosion

Officials say gas leak likely the cause of blast

The Big Picture: See Henrietta blast from the air

MORE: Firefighters on scene at time of house explosion

Henrietta house explosion likely caused by broken gas line