Within minutes a vast firestorm engulfed eight of the 63 buildings in the Durham Woods apartment caused the blast, which carved a crater 50 feet deep. Miraculously, only one resident died-of a heart attack during the evacuation, officials said-though 28 others were treated for bums and injuries. Authorities believe that several dozen residents who have not been located are still alive because no human remains were found in the rubble.
New Jersey Gov. Christine Whitman compared the scene to “ground zero at a nuclear blast.” The 10-minute gap between the explosion and the moment flames reached the apartments 300 yards away, she said, probably saved many lives. The next day all that remained of truckdriver Carlos Uchaya’s building was smoldering concrete and crumpled appliances. “I saved my skin,” said Uchaya, one of 160 residents who was left homeless. His one regret, Uchaya said, was leaving tickets to a Phil Collins concert on his night stand.
