Neighbors clean up after Gallatin home explosion

GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Gallatin community is recovering after Friday morning’s home explosion on Chaffin Court, which left a woman critically injured.

The explosion was reported around 7:45 a.m. on Friday, June 14 in the 300 block of Chaffin Court near Airport Road, according to the Sumner County Emergency Management Agency.

The Gallatin fire chief told News 2 a woman from inside the home sustained second-degree burns and was taken to TriStar Skyline Medical Center, but she was still alert and talking Friday morning. The TBI confirmed the woman was still hospitalized on Saturday, June 15.

Meanwhile, the TBI reported Friday afternoon that the explosion “does appear at this time to have been intentional.”

Neighbors near and far recalled their homes shaking as they heard a loud noise. Vicky Rigsby and her brother, Phillip, were at a nearby hospital as she waited to have surgery and claimed they were able to hear the boom.

“It sounded like a big stick of dynamite went off…I heard it all the way from the hospital over there and it didn’t sound good,” Phillip recalled.

Vicky and Phillip were among the several Chaffin Court residents who began cleanup efforts Saturday after at least six homes in the immediate area were damaged in the blast.

“It’s sort of like when a tornado comes through, you know how it just tears everything apart in different places? That’s what it feels like happened here. It just hit each place here. On each one of these places, something tore up, the windows are knocked out, the tops of the porches are hanging down all the way through here,” Vicky explained.

On Saturday, the area around the explosion remained fenced off with yellow warning signs about the structure’s dangers. Yards were riddled with debris, along with roof and window damage several homes sustained.

Neighbors told News 2 they knew the woman transported to the hospital and asked for prayers as she works to recover.

“We talk when we see each other in the neighborhood and out. She’s a real nice person, real good person,” Gallatin resident Janice Wright said.

In addition, Wright said her close friend lives on the other side of the home that exploded. Thankfully, her friend wasn’t home at the time and had been out walking.

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Wright admitted that Friday’s explosion was something she won’t soon forget.

“It’s just sad all the way around for both people that’s houses are involved, and I’m pretty sure sad for all of us, as well, because we have to look at this, and this is going to bring back all of these unnerving moments that happened when the blast went off,” Wright said.

News 2 asked the TBI if any charges were pending in connection with the explosion, but the agency said it could not comment due to the ongoing investigation.

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