“I touched the dial and it popped right away,” he told the Guardian. “It just blew up the whole house in seconds. It was just ruins.” The devastating gas explosion ripped through a roof gap on Church Road in Seven Sisters and was heard throughout the south Wales community of 2,000. It was caused by a faulty regulator on an external LPG cylinder which fed the kitchen appliances. Unknown to the family, he was gassing the house, turning a family home into an explosives chamber. “Until it happens, it doesn’t cross your mind”: Jess Williams with her family. Photo: Gayle Marsh/Media Wales Jess’ two children, now seven and three, were in the living room and suffered 28% burns and spent three weeks in hospital. Jess suffered 70% burns and spent 14 weeks in hospital. “The explosion was so big it threw me back to the floor,” he said. “The refrigerator fell on top of me and trapped me. Any [debris] that fell, it fell on the refrigerator and that’s how it protected me.” She was conscious throughout the ordeal and remembers screaming for help, which came in the form of Jeff Davies, a neighbor, who described finding only a few loose walls and lots of debris from the house. Her partner, Michael, returned from work to a scene of destruction. The boys were airlifted to Bristol for treatment and Jess was placed in an induced coma for a month in hospital in Swansea. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST The past two years have been a long time for the family which has included rehabilitation and multiple operations to try to repair the burns and scars, deal with the mental cost and rebuild their home with the help of the local community. “Until it happens to you, it doesn’t even cross your mind, but it’s apparently more common than you think,” Jess said. “No one is encouraged to do gas checks and that is something that needs to change. If you don’t have a TV license you get fined but if your throttle isn’t checked, nobody cares. However, it can mean life and death. Our lives are forever changed because of it. I never thought to check anything in my gas bottle.”
