Three people injured in a Calgary house explosion remain in critical condition in the intensive care unit, friends and family of the victims said Thursday.
With one victim out of hospital and more expected to be released in the coming week, the city’s South Sudanese community is trying to prepare for their life after the explosion by gathering essentials like clothing and finding a new place for them to live.
On Monday morning, the house in northeast Calgary exploded, sending 10 to hospital.
“As you can see from the CCTV images, the explosion almost levelled the house,” Aleer Deng said Thursday.
“The people who went to hospital went with nothing on them so as a community we need support to give them shelter, give them clothes.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with hospital bills, paying for accommodations once the victims are out of hospital, and getting necessities like clothing and toiletries.
On Saturday, the Forest Lawn Community Association will also be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., taking donations of clothing and hygiene-related items.
Community advocate Gar Gar said while many of the 10 in the home were tenants, some were just visiting.
He shared the story of a father and son who travelled from Brooks in eastern Alberta for surgery scheduled for the son.
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The second morning the family was there, the explosion happened.
“It’s sad now that both of them are in the hospital, instead of one,” Gar said. “The wife now has to leave her job to come down also and attend to the son, while the father is struggling – and that’s the father that has a broken back.”
Gar recognized the tight rental market in Calgary will put added stress on any fundraising efforts.
“I feel like it takes a lot of money just to rent, for example. And we see with the food prices, cost of living going up,” Gar said.
“The problem now is the money,” Deng Deng Tiordit said.
“Those guys, they don’t have anything. Everything is still in this house here.”
Deng said he was told the landlord was informed of a gas leak in the house, which allegedly went unaddressed.
On Tuesday, the Calgary Fire Department said they suspected natural gas was the cause of the explosion, but investigators continue to investigate the cause.
Gar said the community is seeking answers on whether there was a gas leak before the explosion and what steps were or weren’t taken to address it.
Deng said the people staying in the six-bedroom house were all working to make better lives for themselves.
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“There’s no criminal records or activities associated with this house,” Deng said.
“Everybody that was in this house is a hard-working Calgarian and they have no criminal records at all.”
With a long road of recovery ahead of the victims, Gar is concerned about both their lives, their livelihoods and their families.
He hopes to tap into the generosity of the city they call home.
“It’s comforting them to say, ‘We got your back. You don’t have to worry. Whatever happened to you, the main thing is you are here and you will get back up and we are here to support you,’” Gar said.
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