Man Injured as Gas Explosion Drives Residents Into the Night

When he felt the blast jolt his Park La Brea apartment, Frank Brooks said to himself, “This is the Big One.”

Walls collapsed around him, his couch was set on fire and debris tumbled from the ceiling. But instead of an earthquake, Brooks was feeling the effects of a natural gas explosion, apparently set off by his downstairs neighbor.

Authorities said Timothy O’Neel, 34, was trying to fix his fireplace lighter just before midnight Tuesday when somehow gas leaked and caught the pilot flame of a nearby kitchen appliance, touching off the blast.

O’Neel suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns and was taken to County-USC Medical Center General Hospital. He was reported in serious but stable condition.

“It happens all the time,” said Fire Department spokesman Jim Williamson. “If it’s not the fireplace, it’s the stove or the burner. Gas can be very hazardous if not handled properly.”

The other 16 residents of the three-story building on South Burnside Street were not injured, but they were chased from their homes and, in some cases, lost cherished belongings.

On Wednesday, as he scrambled through the rubble to save whatever was left after the fire, Brooks recalled vividly what had happened the night before.

“The explosion was incredible, I thought it was the Big One. I looked around and everything was on fire,” said the 42-year-old high school teacher. “I grabbed a robe and ran downstairs; the sprinklers were on so we all got wet. We looked up and saw our homes burn down with a mixture of coldness, fear, dampness, shock and depression.”

Colleen Adamson, 23, was studying in her bedroom when the explosion took place next door. “At first I thought it was an earthquake, but then I started smelling electrical wires and seeing the smoke,” she said. “The window flew out and the walls collapsed. I was trapped until a friend from across the street came in and rescued me.”

The Red Cross provided temporary lodging in a nearby hotel for seven residents while the rest stayed with friends.