Austin house explosion: Neighbors speak about the damage to their homes

AUSTIN, Texas - There is no word on what caused the massive explosion at a house in Northwest Austin this week, which was heard from Georgetown. 

A family of four was getting ready to move into their new home, which they had built, when it exploded. 

Pieces of the home are in people's backyards who live three houses down, and windows were blown out of homes up and down the street. 

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Northwest Austin house explosion

The backstory:

The explosion happened on April 13, around 11:30 a.m. in the 10400 block of Double Spur Loop, just off DK Ranch Road, north of Laurel Mountain Elementary.

When crews arrived, they found a two-story home that looked like it had exploded and been leveled to the ground. The house next door also suffered severe damage.

There was a vehicle fire at the home that collapsed, and fire crews extinguished small spot fires in the collapsed debris as well.

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EMS says that a total of six people were treated in connection with the explosion: two people from the collapsed home, another from the neighboring home, another with minor complaints, and two firefighters with minor injuries.

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The home was recently built in the Great Hills neighborhood and belonged to a husband, wife, and their two children. A person who knows the family posted that the husband, who was in the home at the time of the explosion, was in the hospital with burns and broken bones and that he had to undergo surgery. 

Initially, officials said about 24 homes were damaged and two were determined "uninhabitable."

The Schacherl family speaks out

Local perspective:

People are picking up the pieces days after an explosion injured six people and caused significant damage to at least two dozen homes and an elementary school. 

The woman who lived next door was at home during the blast. Her son, David Schacherl, was going through the rubble with his wife, Holli, on Thursday afternoon. 

"My mom is displaced by this," said David Schacherl. "She will not have a home to come back to. She does not have a vehicle to go to. She's the primary guardian for my dad, whose care is astronomical." 

"The roof fully collapsed in on her and from the reports that we got it, it took them about an hour to retrieve her from the rubble," he added.

The couple tried to recover what they could while Carol remained in the ICU with several broken bones, including the scapula, clavicle, ribs, and four places in her arm. 

"We're actually on our way to see her after this," said Holli Schacherl. "We haven't had a chance to talk to her at all since all of this happened."

The Schacherls said Carol had breathing tubes and had not been able to speak since the explosion. 

"Yeah, like trying to figure out insurance, for the car, for the house, for her health, without her being really awake or able to speak with the tube in her mouth," said Holli Schacherl. "We've had to kind of like puzzle piece everything together."

The Schacherl family has a GoFundMe for anyone who is willing to donate. If you would like to donate, click here.

The McCharen family speaks out

Local perspective:

Bill McCharen lives next door to Carol. After he examined the cost of repairs, he considered starting from scratch. 

"If you're rebuilding half your house, I mean at that point, it seems like it might be better to just tear it down," said Bill McCharen. 

McCharen said all the material things can be replaced, but he is thankful his wife and children are safe. 

"The boys, I mean, it's miraculous," said McCharen. "The room that they were playing in completely imploded. The walls caved in, and they didn't get a single scratch. It was amazing."

The Great Hills Neighborhood is counting their blessings that everyone survived as they start on their long road to recovery. 

Northwest AustinCrime and Public Safety