OREGON (WKOW) -- When an early-morning explosion suddenly shook the Village of Oregon, leveling several homes, construction worker Jon Mountford was pouring concrete just feet away. What he did shortly thereafter was nothing short of heroic.
Mountford says he had just started working on a duplex next door to the leveled home when the explosion happened. What he saw immediately thereafter was something almost beyond comprehension.
"I heard the explosion and then saw just — there was four by eight sheets of plywood raining from the sky, shingles and insulation," Mountford said. "I just kind of out of an instinct, I'm like I gotta run over there and see what's going on, see if anybody's in the house."
One duplex was immediately leveled. Flames from the explosion spread quickly to another home next door.
A small dog was still trapped inside.
"The garage door had gotten blown off," Mountford said. "There was a small dog just kind of shaking by the door. When I opened the door, it ran into the garage, and we grabbed it and got it to a neighbor."
With the fire spreading, Mountford made the selfless decision to run back into the burning home.
"I went back in and just started yelling 'is anybody in here, anybody in here?'" Mountford said.
Luckily, no one was in the home at the time and no one was injured by the explosion. Crews were on scene shortly after to control the fire and clean up the mess.
Two families are without homes after the explosion.
Mountford says he didn't think twice about jumping in to help. After seeing the explosion first-hand, he can't believe it wasn't worse.
"It is a miracle," Mountford said. "Definitely a miracle that nobody got hurt."
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