Richmond Hill residents prepare for demolition

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Roger Henson said something that it's hard to believe when you look around Richmond Hill.

"The cleaning up is the easiest part," he said.

Inspectors condemned 33 homes in the south side neighborhood. They're among the casualties of the gas explosion on November 10.  The first of the 33 came down Monday morning.

Henson lives about a quarter of a mile from Richmond Hill.  Close enough to feel the blast that Saturday night.  "Oh, yeah," he said, "It rattled the furniture all over the place in my home."  He's close enough that he walked over to the neighborhood after the explosion.  His sister called him, "screaming and yelling."

What he found was "a mess."  He said "the front door was just hanging by one screw, I think.  The windows were all blown out.  This overhead door here was blown in.  That one was blown out."  The list goes on. 

There's a moving van in front of the house now, to collect what's been saved from the home. 

But, the place is not livable.

Henson's first concern, on the night of the blast, was making sure everyone was OK.  "That was the biggest thing," Henson told 24-Hour-News 8.  "This is all material.  It can all be replaced."  And, until that happens, until the losses are replaced, his sister is welcome to stay in the Henson home.

The explosion killed two residents of the neighborhood, Jennifer and Dion Longworth.

Police have declared the incident a criminal act.  But, they have made no arrests.

As he looks around what's left of his sister's home, Henson said the damage wasn't done strictly by the explosion.  "It was done like a shock wave from the blast.  That's what tore most of these houses up."Now, the wrecking crew will finish what the blast started.

Permits have been approved to demolish four more Richmond Hill homes as early as Wednesday.