Home no longer livable after explosion

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Chad and Abbey Jackson are on the road to recovery. But Abbey will tell you it's a difficult and somber road to navigate.

"Just trying to maintain myself as a mom to take care of my kids and try to deal with my emotions, as well,” Jackson said. “I'm just trying to pull it together so I can be a mom.”

The mother of four says her family was either asleep or getting ready for bed when the blast rocked their home Saturday night.

Abbey's motherly instincts kicked into high gear. She grabbed the kids while Chad tried to figure out what happened. Screams from neighbors told them to get out of their house.

"I said, ‘Where do we go?’ And you just see people screaming and hollering. And I get out in the front yard and I go, ‘Somebody tell me where to go,’" said Abbey Jackson.

The family made it out of the neighborhood. Three days passed before they were able to return.

Damage to their home is extensive. The powerful blast moved the home off its foundation. The house will have to be demolished.

"The demolition will happen rapidly now that we have the home secured. We can start getting all of their personal belongings out. We can hopefully move to demolition as early as mid to late next week," said Brandon McIntire, who works for Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.

Engineers braced the home so the family is now able to go in and pack up their belongings. They don't know if they will return.

"The great thing about this neighborhood is the people. This neighborhood will survive" said Chad Jackson.

"Our community is one I will never want to leave. The firefighter when I went to our house and he was standing in our driveway and I just ran up to him and said, ‘I am so thankful for you’ and he said, ‘No, I'm thankful you guys got out,’" said Abbey Jackson.
The Jacksons are living with relatives right now. They're looking for a new place to stay while their insurance company takes care of the demolition.