An older couple and their adult son, who escaped a house fire and a series of explosions, were out of the hospital by Friday morning, according to friends.
A fundraiser for Rita and Fred, and their son Bobby is in the works after a blast Thursday destroyed their home on Sensentine Road in Clinton Twp.
Dance studio owner Dave Ragnacci used Facebook to announce a meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at his Scranton studio, 1212-14 South Main Ave., to make fundraiser plans. Ragnacci declined to comment. But on Facebook, he wrote that Rita is a longtime member of his dance studio and that “these two people have a heart of gold and are always giving, giving, giving!!!!”
“It’s time to give back. Anyone who would like to help with this event in any way please come to the meeting. The event will be a night of food, fun, entertainment and prizes. Your help and input is needed,” he wrote.
Neighbor Kimberly Christman said she comforted Rita at the scene a block off the shores of the 158-acre Elk Lake in the western part of Wayne County. She said her neighbor seemed “horrified” and in shock.
“She was just holding on to me, and she couldn’t even walk to get over” to a waiting vehicle,” Christman said. Rita was deeply worried about her animals. Christman believes a dog survived, but the status of multiple birds and cats remains unknown.
Christman and her husband watched the scene unfold from their kitchen window. She believes she heard three blasts followed by other, smaller noises.
“It was pretty harrowing,” Christman said. “We’re all pretty shook up.”
Fire officials Thursday blamed a leaking propane tank.
According to state police, an 84-year-old woman was in the kitchen when an initial blast partially collapsed the structure around 10 a.m. Thursday. Blocked by debris, she yelled for her 63-year-old son upstairs to climb out a window, forcing him to jump from the roof to safety.
Fire crews from throughout a three-county area responded and battled the flames for several hours in temperatures that reached nearly 90 degrees.
Videos posted by residents of the lake show thick, black smoke billowing high into the sky following the initial explosion.