It's been nearly nine months since an uncapped gas line caused a home explosion on Cheryl Drive near South Fish Hatchery Road in Fitchburg. The blast leveled three homes and extensively damaged more than a dozen others. Finally, nearly all of the residents are able to return to their repaired homes, and return to life as usual.

"It's just nice to be home again," Danielle Eithun said. Eithun was with her children in their home across the street when the explosion happened. She remembers feeling the house shake and her windows shattering. The Eithuns had to leave their house for about 5 months while it was repaired. Eithun says she is grateful for the help and kindness she and her family received from so many people. Her children's schools and church, St. James and Christ Memorial Preschool offered help and support as the Eithuns dealt with repairing their home. "And it's also just kind of a reminder of how lucky we are. My kids are all fine, and you know, things can change in an instant."

An instant Fitchrona EMS paramedic Ross Williams remembers as the craziest moment in his career.

"We train for this all the time. We train for every situation, but this is one thing we don't train for. You don't train for having things happen right there in front of you." Williams says he and his crew were responding to a nearby call when they heard the blast, and arrived on site about 30 seconds later. "It's not something you'll ever forget. Coming back here and actually seeing that the neighborhood has been rebuilt is remarkable compared to what I saw on the day in August when we responded to the call."

Mary Katic was thankfully not home during the explosion, but her house had extensive damage to the exterior. All of the windows were blown out, and broken glass and studs caused further interior damage. Katic and her husband were in a hotel for more than 6 months. She told NBC15 she's happy to be back home and ready to spend the summer unpacking boxes into her newly repaired home. Both Katic and Eithun still have repairs being made to their homes as they live in them.