N.B. couple recovering after explosion destroys home

A New Brunswick couple is recovering after their house exploded last weekend.

The remnants of Jason and Kellie Kavanagh’s dream home now lay scattered among the snowbanks in Grande-Digue, N.B.

“It’s not what you want to see,” said Buns Kavanagh, Jason’s dad. “Anybody that was there don’t realize how they ever survived.”

Buns Kavanagh says his son and daughter-in-law went to bed Thursday night after the Canada-USA hockey game and woke up in the snowbank just hours later.

“He got ready for bed, put the dog out, went to bed and the next thing he remembers was waking up in the snowbank and looking out at not realizing where he was and his whole house was gone. There was nothing in front of him and he just started hollering for Kellie,” he said. “(Jason) had a spike in his foot with a board on it, so it took him three tries to get that out of his foot and then he finally reached her and then … he noticed his neighbour coming around the corner with a flashlight.”

The explosion is believed to have been caused by a propane leak that ignited in the home’s crawl space.

“The blast came from underneath the house and took the whole floor, roof, the whole house went and they were in bed at the time,” Buns said.

The couple and their dog Frankie all survived the incident.

Jason is recovering from broken ribs, broken toes and a broken sternum and Kellie is still in the ICU with a broken pelvis and back, and severe injuries to her legs and arms.

“When I see Jason up and coming and making his decisions and stuff, I feel 100 per cent better,” said Jason’s mom Darlene Kavanagh. “My focus now is on Kellie. I am so worried and sick about Kellie. My heart just breaks, breaks, breaks when I look at that girl, my heart breaks for her, and what she has to go through, but she’s a friggin’ tough cookie. She’s friggin’ tough. She’s the toughest little girl I ever saw.”

Frankie is staying with Kellie’s family until he can be reunited with his owners.

“Frankie has a cut onto him that he keeps licking, his whiskers were burnt, he had one eye problem, but they took him to the vet and he’s going to have a full recovery,” said Darlene.

Beausoleil Mayor Romeo Bourque says the fire department was called to the scene just before 3 a.m. Friday.

“The RCMP were on site and Ambulance New Brunswick was already on site, so there was call in to the Shediac Fire Department for back up as well as Champdoré,” he said, noting there were 20-to-25 emergency personnel at the scene. “We’ve always been known as a community that will always be there with a helping hand and this is no different.”

Bourque confirmed the Fire Marshall was on scene to conduct an investigation, but at this point, no official report has been released.

The family says the couple did have insurance.

“The silver lining is they’re both alive and the material things can come back,” said Buns Kavanagh.

Since the accident, Maritimers have rallied behind the couple. A GoFundMe has raised more than $23,000, and donations and support have poured in from across the Maritimes to help Jason and Kellie rebuild their lives.

“It’s unreal,” said Buns said. “From Canso to Little Dover to Antigonish and Riverview, Moncton, it’s phenomenal. Can’t say enough about how proud we are that people remember them as being good people and support them very well.”

The family doesn’t know how long Jason and Kellie will be in the hospital, but they will be there to support them.

“Everything has to be rebuilt in their apartment, so … I will definitely be here to help get all that and be here, no matter what,” said Darlene.

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