'They don't believe it's gas': CBS 2 Investigators talk to South Austin building owner about explosion
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cars covered with bricks and shattered glass.
That's what an explosion in a South Austin apartment building left behind, but what happened on the inside? CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey tracked down the owner of the building.
"One investigator said that they don't believe it's gas. That's all I've got to go with," said Roman Viere with West End LLC. "I asked, him if it's not gas, what could it be? And he said, 'A boom.'"
Viere has owned the building for about 20 years. He said 31 of the 35 units in this building were occupied at the time of the explosion.
He didn't have a solid head count for the number of residents inside this building at the time of the explosion this morning but he said he and his team are currently working on finding accommodations for everyone — including some hotel rooms.
CBS 2 dug into the building's inspection history: The property does have a long record of violations with the building department but they were all relatively minor infractions.
The last citation was in February 2020 and it was taken care of via an administrative hearing.
Viere confirmed there were inspectors out here one week ago checking smoke detectors and they brought every unit into compliance.
He explained that there is actually something special about the construction in this building — it's fire resistance rated construction and that may have limited the structural impact of the explosion.
"This building is actually a fireproof-rated building. The floors, the roof everything is concrete, the walls are masonry. Had that not happened, this could have been absolutely devastating," Viere said. "(The) front half of the building probably would have been obliterated."
While the building was cited by the city in the past, none of those violations would have contributed to an explosion or structural failure of this kind.
West End, LLC is currently working to find housing for the residents here. Viere said they've been operating in this community for more than 30 years and they plan to stay and rebuild.