AVONDALE, La. — A gas explosion and fire in Avondale claimed the life of an 87-year-old grandmother and left five of her family members injured.
Cell phone video shows a trailer home on fire shortly after the blast that rocked Avondale Garden Road on the west bank of Jefferson Parish.
Adrienne Gabriel witnessed the explosion across the street from her home.
“A big boom and swoosh, everything was gone, instantly,” Gabriel said.
Gabriel’s cousin, Deloris Gabriel, died in the fire.
One of her adult sons suffered severe burns while attempting to rescue his mother from the burning home.
Two children, ages 4 and 7, and other family members were also treated for fire-related injuries.
“By the time I turned my back from the door the house exploded and all I could do is run out there and I say oh Lord, that’s my cousin’s house and I ran out there and everybody was already in the street burned up, burned and had pretty bad burns on them,” Gabriel said.
Firefighters say a crew pouring a parking lot for a new parish library on the corner of Avondale Garden and Highway 90 backed a cement truck over a gas line, which caused it to rupture.
"They got here and had an active gas leak, notified Atmos.”, JP Fire Service Director Chief Don Robertson said. “Atmos responded to the scene. While they were on the scene there were reports of an explosion right down the street.”
According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the gas leak was reported shortly after 5 a.m., Monday.
The explosion happened just before 6:30 a.m.
Adrienne Gabriel wants to know why her neighborhood wasn’t evacuated.
Many of her family members live on the same street.
“We all could have lost our lives,” Gabriel said. “They knew about this situation.”
Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng visited the scene to comfort family members. She called the deadly fire a tragedy.
“It’s been a difficult morning and obviously the investigation teams are in there from the state, the coroner’s office just left,” she said. “It’s a tough time for us.”
The Herbert Wallace, Westwego, and Avondale Fire Departments quickly put out the fire.
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