Neighbour runs into house to rescue child after Kitchener, Ont. explosion

Josh Barlow is still thinking about what happened Wednesday night.

He was inside his Kitchener, Ont. home when he felt an explosion.

“I was sitting there, watching TV – ended up hearing a big loud bang – felt the couch shake,” he says.

He rushed down the street. A townhouse had exploded. It was just before midnight on Wednesday night.

Barlow heard someone yelling for help and sprang into action, running into the building and helping to remove a child from the home.

“I ended up taking the youngest daughter from the gentleman that was inside there, brought her down to the sidewalk, wrapped her in my coat, gave her to somebody,” he says.

He then tried to go back in to rescue another child he says was on the top floor of the townhouse, but thick smoke blocked his way.

“I wasn't able to get all the way up,” he says. “I got all the way up to the top. I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe.”

Four people were ultimately rescued from the home. Two children were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries and have since been released. Two adults were taken to an out-of-region hospital with serious injuries.

“I'm glad that everybody got out, I hope everybody's okay,” Barlow says.

He doesn’t believe he has any physical injuries from the ordeal, but continues to think about the experience.

“[I’m] a little bit shook up, but more at what I ended up seeing, but I’m O.K.,” he says.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Barlow was one of several neighbours who rushed to help in the aftermath of the explosion. You can read and watch more of their stories here.