Beloved father fighting for life in ICU after house explosion in Long Beach

KTLA — The man injured in a violent house explosion on Monday is fighting for his life in the intensive care unit, his family tells KTLA.

Manny Fabrigas had finished a father-daughter cycling event on Sunday, and since he was incredibly sore from the excursion, he decided to take Monday off from work and rest at his home, located in the 2800 block of Gale Avenue in Long Beach.

“What should have been a quiet day of recovery turned into a nightmare when a sudden explosion shook our home,” a GoFundMe set up to help Manny’s family in the wake of the explosion stated. “The cause is still under investigation, but the consequences were immediate and devastating.”

Manny’s wife Shiela spoke to KTLA 5’s Lauren Lyster on Tuesday morning and said that her husband was doing chores around the house when the explosion happened.

“[Manny] didn’t wash the sheets, so he threw them in the dryer, and when he walked out of the small washer room and entered the kitchen, that’s when something blew up,” she said. “All he remembers is being thrown into the pantry door.”

The explosion occurred in a back house on the property, officials said; the City of Long Beach permits the construction of back houses (known officially as Accessory Dwelling Units ) as long as residents receive approval to do so.

An Instagram post by the Long Beach Fire Department indicated that the now-destroyed ADU was “permitted in the rear of the reported address.”

According to the fundraiser, Manny suffered severe second- and third-degree burns across much of his body and is “fighting to heal” in the ICU.

But the severe injuries to the beloved patriarch are just the tip of the iceberg for the Fabrigas family, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines.

“Our family has lost everything…our home, a symbol of years of hard work and sacrifice, is gone,” the GoFundMe continued. “As Filipino immigrants, we worked tirelessly to build a life and create a home where our family could thrive. After only a year of enjoying our dream home, it was cruelly taken away in an instant. The medical expenses are overwhelming…our family is left without the basic necessities – food, clothing and housing.”

Now, the Fabrigas family has to help Manny on his long road to recovery while piecing their life back together as well. However, they are grateful that the neighborhood reacted quickly when the house blew up, as their actions likely saved Manny from worse injury or death.

“We are incredibly thankful that some of our neighbors were home and heard the explosion…without hesitation, they rushed in and bravely pulled [Manny] from the flames before the fire grew uncontrollable,” the GoFundMe said.

Fabrigas was the only person injured in the incident; however, the blast scattered debris across the neighborhood and temporarily knocked out power to nearby homes. Long Beach Fire Department crews were able to put out the fire caused by the explosion before it spread to adjacent structures.

The front unit sustained minor damage and was yellow-tagged, fire officials said. The ADU was deemed a total loss and red-tagged.

The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined.

Click here to donate to the GoFundMe set up for the Fabrigas family.

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