Home blast rocks Southwest Side

February 28, 2000

BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL STAFF REPORTER

A suspected gas explosion pulverized a Southwest Side home Sunday, critically injuring an elderly couple and shattering windows a block away.

The blast leveled a home and set off an extra alarm fire at 5214 S. McVicker near runway 31 of Midway Airport. Two neighboring homes were severely damaged. The concussion was so great some neighbors thought a plane had crashed in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood.

Rick Nowak, 46, a contractor who lives in the 5200 block of South Meade, was first on the scene. "I saw the whole house blow up, a big orange ball of flame, and just debris falling everywhere, and I started running toward the house to see if I could help."

The explosion occurred about 8:30 a.m. across the street from St. Jane De Chantal Elementary. Rescue workers said they were thankful school was not in session.

"If those kids were lined up in front of the school after 8 o'clock, this would have been a tragedy of a different degree than it is now," said Fire Commissioner James Joyce.

Two residents of the destroyed home were in critical condition Sunday at Loyola University Medical Center: Peter Honcharevich, 85, and his wife Anne, 79. Burns covered 90 percent of her body and 75 percent of his body.

Neighbors--many of them off-duty or retired police officers and firefighters--dug through rubble and lifted washing machines and dryers to rescue them.

"Pete stuck his hand out between two boards and we pulled out his hand, and he said `Get my wife, get my wife,' " said Englewood District Sgt. Stanley Snarskis. "I didn't think we were going to pull her out but we kept digging and somebody saw her leg."

Nowak and other rescuers held up a 4-by-6 foot sheet of flooring to shield the elderly couple from flames. "Thirty seconds more, it would have been all over," he said.

"I remember yelling at some guy standing with his hands in his pockets," said Firefighter Bill Heenan of Engine 84. Snarskis said he smelled gas near the home Saturday, and another rescuer, Deering District Patrol Officer John Elstner, said he smelled gas Sunday.

A natural gas explosion is suspected, said Fire Department spokesman Mike Cosgrove. "It does not appear to be anything suspicious," he said.

The investigation is examining whether two brass uncoated flexible connectors played a role in the blast, said People's Energy spokesman Luis Diaz-Perez. They connected the dryer and range to the gas line.

The connectors, which tend to leak, haven't been manufactured since 1976, Diaz-Perez said. "If you have an uncoated brass connector, it is recommended these be replaced immediately," he said. Newer connectors should be replaced every 10 years, he said.

Anyone concerned about the presence of uncoated connectors should have their home inspected by a private contractor or People's Energy. People's Energy, which charges $30, can be reached at (312) 240-7001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Treated and released from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn were Anthony Minneci, 32, his wife, Rachel, 29, and their son, Michael, 6 weeks, all of 5218 S. McVicker. Their residence appeared to be a total loss, as did another home at 5210 S. McVicker, Cosgrove said. Thirty-one other buildings were damaged, he said.

At least 25 windows were shattered at St. Jane De Chantal Church. Sunday masses were canceled, and there will be no classes at least through Tuesday at the school.

Neighbors said the Honchareviches are well-liked fixtures in the neighborhood who have been married more than 60 years. Peter Honcharevich, a retired machinist, enjoys tinkering in his garage and had vowed to rid his attic of a lifetime's accumulation of objects, many scattered Sunday on McVicker.

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 28, 2000