Woodstock explosion: Residents whose homes were damaged share firsthand accounts

Twenty-two people were displaced from their homes because of Monday’s explosion in Woodstock. Armani Peralta was among them.

Peralta said she’s lived in Woodstock for just over a year, and her daughter, Alanie, will be four months old next week. Her apartment was in a home right next to the one that exploded; the home where Peralta lived also was severely damaged and deemed uninhabitable.

“We got a call saying the house was on fire” shortly after the explosion, Peralta said.

She added that when her family woke up Monday morning, something smelled bad in the apartment.

Peralta said she and her boyfriend, Armanie Bannister, tried throwing out leftovers and old vegetables, among other items in the fridge they thought could be the cause of the foul odor.

But “the smell was stronger,” Peralta said.

She said she tried to light a candle and turn on a fan to mask the smell, but felt like something was off with the candle, so she quickly blew it out.

Bannister came home from work about 1 p.m. Monday to find out the street was closed off, Peralta said. Officials began evacuating people around then because of a gas leak in the area, and Peralta said she was told it would be about 30 minutes to an hour before they could go home.

When she left with her daughter, she grabbed a few things for the baby, thinking she’d be back soon.

Shortly after the gas leak – local police, the fire district and Nicor Gas were still investigating what happened – an explosion leveled the house next door to Peralta and Bannister’s apartment and set theirs on fire.

When Peralta saw her house after the explosion, she realized “there wasn’t going to be anything left.”

Community members have rallied around those who have been affected by the home explosion, and four related fundraisers verified by GoFundMe were well on their way to meeting their goals as of Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m beyond grateful,” Peralta, who’s now staying with relatives, said of the community’s support.

Chance Naber, who lives next door to Peralta, was at work in Crystal Lake when the explosion occurred and he left as soon as he got the news.

“I found my wife and kids at the library,” Naber said. The library also sustained damage in the blast but has reopened.

He said he’s swept up some glass at the house, but also knows he won’t be back to living there for quite a while.

“A lot of things shifted” during the explosion, Naber said. “My garage is off the concrete slab.”

Naber said he’s still trying to figure out next steps, and was staying at a hotel as of Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s hard to be displaced completely all of a sudden,” Naber said.

He said his wife, Antoinette, smelled gas Monday before the explosion.

“It could have easily happened to us,” Naber said of the home explosion.

St. Mary Church in Woodstock, across the street from the home that exploded, announced on its Facebook page late Tuesday that its school would remain closed Wednesday.

A message in the church bulletin, posted Wednesday, asked parishioners to pray for those displaced by the explosion.

Monday’s explosion damaged 20 structures in town, including homes and businesses.