Miracle As Musician Escapes Blast 2007:04:23
A West musician had a miraculous escape yesterday when his house blew to pieces around him in a massive explosion.Retired classical oboist James Brown picked his way through the debris of what was his house in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, after the gas explosion destroyed his home when he flicked the switch on his kettle to make an afternoon cup of tea.
Emergency services said it was ‘the biggest miracle ever’ that no one was killed or even seriously injured as debris was sent flying hundreds of yards in all directions.
Local residents said Mr Brown had only recently moved into the cottage having separated from his wife.
They said he had been there just six months and it is believed that his wife lived on the same street, although her house is not thought to have been seriously damaged in the explosion.
The musician, who residents say is in his mid 70s, has played for the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Eye-witnesses spoke of hearing an incredibly loud bang and seeing a flash of blue flame up to 100ft in the air as Mr Brown’s 17th-century cottage was completely destroyed.
The musician escaped relatively unharmed, and joked with amazed paramedics that he was fine – “just a bit more deaf than he was before”.
He was at the centre of the blast in his kitchen – and suffered only minor burns and cuts. Neighbours said they watched amazed as they rushed into the street to see him clambering out of the rubble.
Police said the blast damaged six neighbouring properties and dozens of cars.
Residents whose homes were damaged in the blast were being evacuated to a local leisure centre while police and fire crews worked to secure the scene. All roads to the area were blocked off while the emergency services carried out their work on Burnham Road.
Neighbour Paul Humphreys said: “I was standing in the garden and heard a big bang. I looked over and saw all this debris flying through the air. I ducked as it was coming down on me.
“It was just a sudden boom – absolutely incredible. I immediately thought it was a gas explosion. I went out the front of the house and saw Jimmy walking out of the building. He was walking through the debris to get to the front.
“He looked perfectly OK, he’s got a fairly nonchalant face anyway, and he seemed fine – a little bit shocked.”
Mr Brown’s dog Bessie came off worse – she suffered more severe burns and was taken to a nearby vet. Mr Brown was taken to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon and later moved to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol.
Ambulance operations manager Steve Blackmore said: “This is a very lucky town this evening. As well as the incredible chap who walked out of that, we know of three other people who walked past the house just minutes or seconds before.
“This could have been a multiple fatality situation very, very easily.
“The chap in the house is a very lucky gent, he has escaped with minor burns. Sometimes when you are in the centre of an explosion, you are better off than when you are a few yards away.
“My first thought when I saw this scene was that it looked very serious, and we would be dealing with many dead and injured. It is absolutely incredible.”
Audrey Waters was sitting in her home two doors away when the blast happened at just after 4.30pm.
“There was one almighty bang. My conservatory has gone, the blinds are smashed up and the cupboard doors blew off. I didn’t know what happened and then a man came to the door and told me to get out,” she said.
The house destroyed was in a row of 17th-century weavers’ cottages in Malmesbury’s Horsefair – a major road junction. Fire experts said the thickness of the cottage walls in this part of town might have saved more serious damage and maybe lives.
Inspector Mark Levitt said: “There is severe damage right across the area, and a number of homes are unsafe to be in. There are windows smashed everywhere you look.”
Last night police said a major investigation was under way to discover the cause of the explosion. Neighbours said Mr Brown told them he had flicked the switch on his kettle and the spark caused the explosion.
The inquiry is certain to centre on gas works that were taking place in the Horsefair at the time of the blast, although no workmen were on the scene at the time.
One eyewitness, a mother who declined to be named, said she was visiting a dental practice across the road from the blast and smelled gas in the street as they went in. Minutes later the blast sent her and her children flying across the waiting room.