EXCLUSIVE: Man Survives Explosion Inside South Philadelphia Home
By Steve Patterson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An exclusive interview with the man who survived an explosion inside a South Philadelphia home (See Related Story).
He opened up to CBS 3's Steve Patterson about the moment he knew something was wrong -- and shows us the video he took after his escape.
It's a moment Ron Talton says should have killed him.
"I thank god that I'm alive," he said.
Talton was in the living room when the home he was renting exploded in the 1800 block of South Bancroft at about 6 p.m. Thursday night.
He says when he got home from work that night he found PGW workers going home to home, checking a reported gas smell.
"They said they needed to check my house as well," he said.
Talton opened the door for two workers who told him to hang back as they went to check the basement and in less than a minute later, they rushed back up with a warning.
"He tapped me on the shoulder and said 'we have to evacuate,'" Talton said. "Right after that, an explosion."
Talton, standing in the living room at the time, said the force of the explosion destroyed the floor beneath him.
"The feeling was like being in a science fiction movie where you're being pulled into a black hole," he said. "The floor exploded underneath me and was gone and I was in the hole."
Despite being inside during a home explosion, Talton just had a few cuts and bruises.
Those two PGW workers: just minor injuries.
The cause is under investigation.