“Our goal has always been safety,” he said. “Our No. 1 priority is the safety of our residents, staff and the public at large.”
MORE: School fundraiser part of efforts to help Middletown families displaced by explosion
Jones said he’s still calculating what the BMHA has spent on security since the Dec. 2 explosion displaced 10 Middletown residents at the Townhomes West apartment complex in the 400 block of Cribbs Avenue. The fire report is incomplete so Jones is unsure of the estimated loss to the building and its contents, he said.
Regardless of the financial loss, he’s thankful no one was killed.
“Bricks and lumber can be replaced,” he said. “You can’t replace a life.”
One resident, Brittany Vanderpool, 31, was asleep at the time of the explosion and was seriously injured, according to the fire report. She suffered a back injury when the structure collapsed.
When contacted at Atrium Medical Center days after the explosion, Vanderpool refused to comment about the incident, referring all questions to her attorney. She no longer is listed as a patient at Atrium, according to a hospital official.
The displaced residents either have been relocated in BMHA buildings or space has been reserved for them, Jones said.
The explosion was caused when natural gas permeated the nearby apartments and the furnace unit in Apt. 422 ignited the gas, said Middletown Division of Fire Lt. Frank Baughman, city fire marshal.
The apartments have been condemned by the City of Middletown because they’re uninhabitable, according to a city official. The city has notified BMHA it must demolish or rebuild the structure, according to an official. Jones said a demolition contractor has removed much of the debris to assist in the fire investigation.
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