A quiet Easter Sunday turned disastrous for Brentwood residents yesterday after a vacant house was leveled by a sudden explosion.
The blast occurred at 10:45 a.m. at 43 Fourth Street and sent 100 firefighters from the Brentwood, Bay Shore, Islip and Commack departments racing to the scene. But by the time they got there, the home had been destroyed.
“We heard a loud explosion. It sounded like a bomb went off,” said Cynthia Lombardi, who lives across the street.
She said she’s lucky to be alive.
“The garage door came through our front windows,” she said. “Me and my husband were in bed in the back bedroom. If we had been watching TV on Sunday morning like we usually do, we’d be dead.”
“Our house is ruined. The floors and walls are cracked. I don’t think it’s habitable,” added Lombardi. “We have no place to sleep tonight.”
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. The blast was so intense it badly damaged seven homes on the residential block with flying debris, said Lombardi.
The charred house had been vacant for two months and had recently undergone a major renovation.
“The gas was turned off in all of the surrounding properties,” a National Grid spokesman told Metro. “We want to make sure everyone in the area is safe.”
“I am in complete shock,” said Lombardi. “Our street looks like a war zone.”
