‘Everything was gone’: N.B. Couple recounts surviving house explosion

Sarah Plowman has the story of the New Brunswick couple who survived after the home they were sleeping in was ripped apart by an explosion.

Scarred, in pain, but alive. Jason and Kellie Kavanagh are still in shock from the day their house in Grand-Digue, New Brunswick exploded.

“I just went to bed Thursday evening. Friday morning. Woke up in a snowbank, looked over at the house. Everything was gone,” said Jason Kavanagh in an interview with CTV News from his wife Kellie’s hospital bed at the Moncton Hospital.

Jason woke up confused. He didn’t know where he was, what happened or if he was dreaming.

“I just called for Kellie’s name. She finally answered,” he said.

“He came to me. He said, ‘we have to go’. And I was looking at my feet that were completely destroyed and bleeding,” Kellie said.

Neighbours came rushing in. One neighbour took the couple in until ambulance arrived and rushed them to hospital.

A week later, they’re still in hospital being treated for a long list of injuries.

Jason said he has a punctured lung, a few bruised ribs, a broken or cracked sternum, a punctured foot and a few broken toes.

Kellie faces more hurdles. The explosion cracked three vertebrae, broke another, broke her pelvis and caused deep lacerations on her legs and her lung collapsed.

She’s undergone surgeries, is now out of ICU now but may face more surgeries ahead.

“It hurts. It’s a lot. It’s very painful,” said Kellie.

The Office of the Fire Marshall said it’s still investigating what caused the explosion, but it’s being treated as accidental.

The Kavanaghs believe the explosion was caused by a propane leak that ignited in their home’s crawl space.

The couple’s house is insured but they have no home to return to once they leave the hospital. A GoFundMe page has fundraised thousands of dollars.

“The support from everybody, it’s overwhelming,” said Jason.

“The hospital staff, everything they’ve been doing for us, and we’d like to thank them. The fire department and the ambulance drivers and definitely our neighbours … would never have made it where we are without them.”