EAST SPARTA, Ohio — A Stark County family is calling it "a miracle" after an 83-year-old man survived a house explosion and an 8-foot fall into the basement where he was trapped before firefighters rescued him.
Family members of Gerald Marcum were stunned that he only suffered bumps, bruises and cuts to his face and lacerations on his arms.
"I honestly can't believe he survived with as minimal damage as he has. I don't know how anybody could honestly withstand it," said his son who didn't want his name used.
The explosion happened around 5:40 p.m. Tuesday on Dueber Ave SW in Pike Township.
Windows were shattered, an entire side of the structure was blown out and the house was lifted off its foundation.
"It just initially blew out and lifted the whole house— kind of like a Dorothy thing— literally you could see where the house had been lifted up, separated and moved and set back down," said East Sparta Fire Chief Arnold Adams whose department responded to scene after a neighbor called 911.
Marcum's son, who lives about five minutes away, rushed to the home after a neighbor contacted him to report the explosion.
He went into the badly-damaged and still-burning home and could hear his dad's voice. He did his best to move debris.
"I could hear his voice. I just couldn't find him. He was buried."
It turned out the kitchen, where Marcum had been boiling potatoes, collapsed, sending everything into the basement, including the senior citizen.
"The wall cabinets, the ceiling, the stairwell, everything had fell and collapsed from the inside. Everything was actually laying on the floor in the basement," Marcum's son told News 5.
Two firefighters, including Chief Adams's son, went into the house and found Marcum conscious but pinned between cabinets and an island stove.
With the fire still raging, firefighters went into rescue mode, freed Marcum and took him to Aultman Hospital.
"He was alert and they got him out of the house and the flames were coming up through the floor when they were getting him out," Adams said.
On Wednesday, Marcum sat in a vehicle outside of the home while relatives comforted him and stressed how much the family was counting their blessings.
"Very little injury, it was amazing," Marcum's son said.
Adams considers the home a total loss. He said the State Fire Marshal is investigating but believes the cause is connected to a propane gas leak.
"We automatically turn off the power and gasses, and we went to the propane tank and it still had a turn-and-a-half on. The valve was open, so it was still on," Adams said. "It found an ignition point of some sort."
Marcum's family is trying to figure out what can be salvaged from the fire as it appears most of the senior's belongings were destroyed.
In the meantime, they're grateful to the firefighters who saved the life of their loved one.
"There's not enough good things to say. They went above and beyond," Marcum's son said.
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