After explosion, family returns to house, empty neighborhood
Habitat for Humanity is building a house on one of the vacant lots.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Dwight Caldararo knows his neighborhood will never be the same.
Six months ago, Caldararo, his wife and children were forced out of their Almira Street home after a natural-gas explosion at a home just yards away at 833 Franklin Ave. -- a force that mostly destroyed the neighborhood.
Today, the neighborhood is a shell of what it once was with eight homes demolished and countless others still unoccupied because of the damage.
Caldararo counts himself lucky since his insurance company stepped up and repairs were started almost immediately.
The family lived in a motel for three weeks and a rental home for nine weeks before they moved back into their home Feb. 22.
Today his blue two-story has a completely new interior.
All of the walls and ceilings had to be redone after glass broken from 15 windows spewed throughout the house. Most of the furniture had to be replaced, too. Insurance covered about 98 percent of the costs, paying for nearly 50,000 in repairs, he said.
'Just not the same'
But even with the new interior and replaced items, Caldararo knows he's lost a great deal.
"It's just not the same. We got a really nice house, but no neighbors," he said.
To Caldararo's left is an empty lot where a house once stood. To the right is a house still vacant and with boarded-up widows.
Across the way on Franklin Avenue, there's nothing but vacant ground with straw on top of it.
The neighborhood suffered 1.3 million in damages, said Brian Melcer, Lawrence County emergency management director.
About 92 people were affected and of that number, 46 families sought aid through Lawrence County Social Services, said Kathy Presnar, who administered the aid.
An 18,000 grant from the Almira Foundation helped pay for insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses for the victims, she said. An additional 1,765 in private donations also was given to the victims.
Tom Ford, emergency services coordinator for the local American Red Cross, said his agency assisted 20 families with food and housed an additional 12.
"The ones whose homes were destroyed, most of them seem to be doing OK. They have relocated all over the county," he said.
But people seeking help are still coming in.
Presnar said last week she received a call from a woman with a leaking roof. Contractors believe the shingles were damaged by the blast six months ago, but didn't show up until recently.
And Ford said a few others are still working with insurance companies to determine if their houses will be repaired or demolished.
On a positive note
With so much destruction, officials are happy that there is one bright spot in the neighborhood.
Lawrence County's Habitat for Humanity announced plans to build a new home on one of the lots left vacant by the blast.
The group was expected to break ground today at 835 Franklin Ave. Construction will begin in mid-May, said Jennifer Gordon, executive director.
"We are pleased that we are able to help this area revitalize despite the trying circumstances that took place there last fall," Gordon said.
The house will be built by volunteers from 12 churches and construction will take about six months.
New Castle Mayor Wayne Alexander said he is working with the Lawrence County United Way to look for ways to build affordable housing on the other vacant lots.
A meeting was planned this week to work out some details, he said.
"Some of folks indicated they were willing to move back if there was something to move back to," the mayor said.
cioffi@vindy.com