A home in a quiet California neighborhood mysteriously exploded into a massive fireball this week — leaving a man living there buried under rubble and covered with burns.
Manny Fabrigas was saved by first responders, and wound up the intensive care unit at the local hospital after his Long Beach home was blown sky high in a blast captured on doorbell footage obtained by KTTV-TV News.
“We are incredibly thankful that some of our neighbors were home and heard the explosion,” the injured man’s wife, Sheila Fabrigas, said on a gofundme page she set up to help the family rebuild.
“Without hesitation, they rushed in and bravely pulled my husband from the flames before the fire grew uncontrollable,” she said. “The Long Beach Fire Department arrived quickly and managed to extinguish the blaze before it spread further, but the damage had already been done.
“Our home, a symbol of years of hard work and sacrifice, is gone,” she added. “After only a year of enjoying our dream home, it was cruelly taken away in an instant.”
Fire officials said the blast was at a legal structure behind the main house and was powerful enough to take down most of the main structure, KTTV said.
The explosion caused minor damage to at least one neighbor’s home, and temporarily knocked out power to about 1,900 utility customers in the area for several hours.
Authorities said the cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
The gofundme page set up by Sheila Fabrigas has raised more than $27,000 of a $50,000 goal.