Woman Living Across From Arlington Townhomes Grateful She Wasn't Home During Explosion
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A woman who lives across the street from where an explosion happened early New Year's Day in Arlington is grateful to be safe.
The powerful explosion happened along the 4100 block of Viridian Village Drive and left a lot of damage in its wake.
It's a lot for displaced resident Emily Clark to take in.
"I'm just kinda of speechless honestly," she said.
Clark was out of town for the New Year and came home Sunday to what's left of her apartment. For the first time, she got to see what the explosion did to her place across the street from where the blast happened.
"I walk in and there's glass shattered from the windows on the wall facing the explosion all the way to the front door."
Clark said she just moved in at the end of November.
"There's debris through the hallways, I was seeing doors kicked in, I was just trying to piece it all together."
But on this Sunday, she's counting her blessings.
"[I'm] just kind of grateful that I wasn't home," Clark said.
The damage in the North Arlington community continues to attract onlookers.
John Radvansky, who lives nearby, said, "It was very shocking. We only live about three miles away so to see that happen was quite upsetting."
The Arlington Fire department says the two story townhome was under construction. Investigators believe a gas appliance was not fully turned off before the explosion.
"It was just quite an experience to come over and see that. It looked like a war zone almost," Radvansky said.
Some of the neighborhood's tenants said they're staying in model apartments. Others said their apartments were deemed okay to live in, but there's still a lot to clean up.
No one was living in the townhome where the explosion happened, and no injuries were reported in the neighborhood.