Code Enforcement officials meet with explosion victims

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - It was a big day for victims of the south side explosion wanting to know what's next and when they can start rebuilding. The Department of Code Enforcement held one-on-one meetings on Monday with affected homeowners. The families who live in the homes deemed unlivable were able to sit down and find out what's next.

"Its still not going to be the same because we've lost lives, you know it's ( the community) just going to be affected. For a 100 home community, we were a pretty close community and had good trick-or-treats. One family would always make hot dogs and grill out and I just think it's going to take a lot out of the neighborhood," says Barry and Jill Chipman, a couple who live in the neighborhood.

Memories are what is left for homeowners in the Richmond Hills neighborhood. A subdivision that is now broken up into a color coded map of red, yellow, orange and green. Scroll down to see an interactive map of the neighborhood.

"There's varying categories as whether they can go in there or not. Hopefully today or tomorrow everybody will be able to get in there and get whatever belongings they can get out of there. But some of them are probably unsafe as we speak others are in different stages," says Mayor Greg Ballard. On Monday morning, Mayor Ballard was on hand to speak with the victims at Southport Presbyterian Church. That is where the homeowners met with code enforcement officials to find out how their home is categorized and what that means for them.

A total of 80 homes were damaged in the blast, but more than 30 homes were deemed unlivable.

Out of the four categories, the homes marked as green are the ones officials think can be salvaged. The rest are the ones believed to be destroyed.

For now, Mayor Ballard says people are helping other people , but he thinks the real frustration is yet to come. He says when people go back into their homes to get what they need, they will be frustrated that they can't do a little more. "Generally speaking (people are) surprisingly upbeat (and) thankful, but a little frustrated that it happened, obviously," says Mayor Ballard.

The homeowners that met with code enforcement officials are being escorted into their homes for what is left of their homes by a code enforcement official and a firefighter. They have one hour to get what they need and then they must leave.

The whole process is expected to take a while.

Click on areas of the map for more information: