Residents Displaced After Explosion Rocks Neighborhood In Suburban Marengo

MARENGO (CBS) -- Neighbors are cleaning up damage after a massive explosion in the far northwest suburban town of Marengo.

Two homes were destroyed and about 50 surrounding homes were damaged after the explosion, CBS 2 Charlie DeMar reports.

The homeowners where the blast orginated were out of town at the time.

Austin Keefer and his father were the two people injured in the explosion. Keefer said he was burned and has a few minor scrapes. He was inside a now flattend home, watching TV with his dad.

"In a blink of an eye the ceiling was just on our heads," he said. "By the time my sister got on the ladder, right when my mom got on the ladder, the floor they were on collapsed."

Moments after the explosion Austin couldn't find his dad, who was trapped the debris.

Austin needed to pull it off of him just for him to be able to breathe.

Many displaced families were brought to Marengo High School where the Red Cross is helping out.

It all happened just before 5 a.m. Sunday in the 500 block of Seventh Avenue.

On Monday, residents began picked up the pieces.

"It's like a PTSD experience," one resident said. "It doesn't really sink in. For people who lost everything, I can't even imagine."

The cause is under investigation.