The victim of a gas explosion in Birmingham, which destroyed a house and seriously damaged three others, was Doreen Rees-Bibb.
A 79-year-old woman was killed in an explosion in Kingstend on Sunday, and a man pulled alive from the rubble by neighbors is believed to be her partner.
He received life-threatening injuries and remains in hospital in critical condition, West Midlands police said.
In a Facebook post, Doreen Karen Bibb’s daughter said: “We are so devastated that my sister and I lost our mother in a fire, this is the worst way to die. We miss Mom so much. ”
Emergency services praised the “heroic” actions of about a dozen men who ran through burning debris to save a man from the rubble after hearing him cry for help.
They took him to a safe place on a mattress that had been blown out of a neighboring property, but they were unable to reach a woman whom the man said was trapped.
Ch Insp’s Kelly Monaghan of the West Midlands Police praised “the truly heroic actions of community members.”
Kiera Parkinson, whose boyfriend Callum Atwood was among those who helped on stage, said: “We are so proud of literally every person who risks their lives to go in there and help someone else. What a community. “
The fire department said that the investigation into the causes of the explosion was ongoing and could take some time. District Commander Alex Shaplan said that “it is clear that there was a gas explosion” and that the assumption that the property’s boiler had to be replaced before the fire “could be part of the investigation”.
The property has been turned into ruins, and the houses on both sides have been left with broken windows and doors. Eight homes are uninhabited either because they are too badly damaged or without gas.
More than 20 people were evacuated nearby, and a handful were treated on the spot for minor injuries.
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