Displaced residents retrieve belongings

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - One of the buildings badly damaged in Friday's natural gas explosion was on the corner of Worthington and Chestnut Streets. 22News was there as residents who were evacuated were allowed to retrieve a few things.

As quickly as Ryan Rose was thrown from his bed during the explosion, he was up running for the door.

“I looked out the window and saw everybody running towards where it happened and I grabbed just what I had and some shoes and ran outside to see if I could help,” Rose said.

He is one of dozens who lived in the apartments on the corner of Worthington and Chestnut Streets.

Some nearby buildings were condemned. Scores Gentlemen's Club, which was at the center of the blast, was located just on the other side, so the apartments that face eastward faced the worst damage.

“Everything popped off the walls, so there's debris everywhere, but some of our neighbors, their whole places were blown out,” said one displaced resident.

Police allowed each apartment tenant to go inside, one at a time, for only a few minutes.

“He told us we'd be able to get some essentials, so really I just need my wallet and car keys. That's all I care about, everything else is stuff and it can be replaced, but some clothes would be nice too,” Rose said.

It was a relief for one family to see their cat alive and safe, despite the destruction surrounding him.

“My neighbor’s in 5E, as I said, their whole place was blown out, every piece of glass, the microwave, the stove, the TV. Everything shattered and I don't know where they're staying,” said Rose.

A shelter was set up at Central High School, but the Red Cross said no one stayed the night.