COLUMBUS, Ohio — Diane Debro remembers the exact time.
“It was like 12:01,” she said.
She remembers the day, April 8. She remembers the feeling.
“The moment I laid back down it was just only a minute it felt like someone pushed the whole house,” she said.
Less than a half-mile away from her bedroom came the blast. An explosion at the Yenkin-Majestic paint plant killed one employee and wounded seven others.
Four months later, Debro says the results of that blast are wreaking havoc on her home.
Inside she says a crack in her basement has caused water damage, which has caused mold. Upstairs she says her windows are misaligned.
Repairs are needed, but she says she doesn’t have the money.
“I have a fixed income,” she said. “Once that’s fixed, it’s fixed. I can’t fix the house and work on my car and everything.”
In a statement released Monday by Yenkin-Majestic, the company says a community meeting has been scheduled for Aug. 17. The company says insurance reps will be there to field questions.
The company also says last week, under careful supervision, the company took a major step forward in rebuilding by starting to remove debris, which also could assist investigators in determining what caused that explosion. Until that cause is found, many neighbors say they can’t file for insurance claims.
“I think [Yenkin-Majestic] really should move out of this community,” Debro said. “I’m afraid of the chemicals. I’m afraid of getting cancer.”
A report to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency two weeks after that explosion lists 22 substances potentially involved in the incident but says there was no known hazard to human health or the environment.
Still, Debro, who is a two-time breast cancer survivor who also had Covid last year, fears what might be lurking in the air.
“You should be someplace in any home where you can get fresh air,” she said. “I decided to never let up my windows again.”