Blast Shakes City, Kills One
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Firefighters watch over the smoldering debris of a residence on Thornton Street after a powerful explosion and gas-fed fire claimed one life and injured three others Sunday night.
WATER VALLEY – A powerful explosion rattled windows across Water Valley and destroyed a residence on Thornton Street Sunday night, leaving one person dead, one person severely injured and triggering a massive emergency response as firefighters battled a blaze fueled by an active natural gas leak.
The explosion occurred around 8:15 p.m. at a small residence located at 827-B Thornton Street. Residents throughout Water Valley reported hearing and feeling the blast, which shattered windows in the adjacent residence and scattered debris across surrounding properties.
Water Valley Fire Chief Mark McGavock said three people were inside the residence and one person was nearby when the explosion occurred. He credited Mason Simpson, a neighbor, with saving two lives before fire engulfed the collapsed structure.
“They would not have survived otherwise,” McGavock said. “The window of survivability for them was only a minute or two after the explosion before the fire would be too strong.”
McGavock also said Simpson’s face was covered in soot after pulling the two people to safety.
While family members have identified the deceased victim as Martha Pritchard, 53, Yalobusha County Coroner Ronnie Stark said her body will be transported to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office in Jackson for an autopsy. Stark said formal identification procedures, including DNA analysis, remain part of the process.
Stark reported the severely injured woman was airlifted to a Memphis hospital. On Monday, a Facebook video showed the heavily bandaged victim, Sandy Rudd, thanking everyone for their prayers.
A third person, Jacorey Pritchard, who was near the house when it exploded, was pulled to safety by Simpson and transported by ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi in Oxford. He was released the following day.
The fourth occupant, also rescued by Simpson, was treated for minor injuries at the scene.
McGavock said three firefighters were on duty at the Water Valley Fire Department when the explosion occurred.
“They heard the blast and knew it was bigger than a blown transformer,” McGavock said.
The firefighters immediately began preparing to respond before the official dispatch was received. By the time crews arrived minutes later, the structure was fully involved in flames.
McGavock said the department had plenty of water and manpower at the scene, with numerous off-duty and volunteer firefighters responding to assist. They quickly realized they were dealing with a blaze being fed by an active natural gas leak, creating conditions that made it difficult to gain control of the fire until the gas supply could be shut off.
“There was no way this fire was going out unless we got the gas shut off,” McGavock said.
“The chief said the explosion was among the most significant natural gas incidents he has encountered during his 34-year firefighting career.”
Debris was scattered across the property and neighboring lots, while shards of glass were found more than 100 feet from the residence.
Firefighter Steven Spence located a shutoff valve and stopped the flow of gas despite the dangerous conditions surrounding the burning structure.
“We put the water nozzle on fog, and Spence got behind that fog pattern and went in to cut off the gas,” McGavock said. “He did a great job. As soon as he shut it off, it wasn’t two or three minutes before we were able to start gaining control over the fire.”
Firefighters also initially faced uncertainty regarding how many people might be inside the residence.
Early reports indicated a child could be trapped inside the home, prompting an urgent search effort once firefighters were able to safely enter the structure. Those reports later proved unfounded, but crews continued conducting a thorough search of the debris.
The explosion also affected utility infrastructure across the city. Officials with the Water Valley Utility Commission reported a citywide electrical surge occurred when electrical wires came into contact during the blast.
Responding agencies included the Water Valley Fire Department, Water Valley Police Department, Water Valley Utility Commission, Delta Utilities, Velma Volunteer Fire Department, O’Tuckolofa Volunteer Fire Department, Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department and the Yalobusha County Coroner’s Office.
Sheriff’s deputies assisted with crowd control and securing the scene while utility personnel worked to address damaged gas and electrical infrastructure.
Firefighters remained on scene for hours Sunday night and returned Monday morning to extinguish remaining hot spots and assist investigators.
The Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s Office was on scene Monday as investigators began examining the cause and origin of the explosion. McGavock said investigators believe the origin was in the kitchen area but cautioned that no cause has been determined and the investigation remains active.
Neighbor Describes Race To Free Survivors
WATER VALLEY – One of the first people to respond after the explosion Sunday night was Mason Simpson, who lives next door to the residence.
Simpson said he had just awakened from a nap and was walking through his home when the blast occurred.
“My windows broke, all the stuff on my walls came down, and cabinets flew open,” Simpson said.
Believing a bomb had exploded, Simpson ran outside and encountered a woman screaming that children were inside the house. The scene, he said, was very chaotic.
“I saw pretty much every single wall to the house was blown away,” he said, adding that the roof had collapsed onto the structure.
Simpson first found Cory Pritchard lying unconscious near what had been the front entrance of the home and dragged him away from the structure and an active gas-fed flame.
After hearing cries for help from inside the debris, Simpson entered the collapsed residence through an opening in the wreckage and began searching for occupants.
At first, he believed children might be trapped inside after a woman outside the home told him babies were in the house. While searching through the wreckage, however, he learned that no children were present.
“I kept asking where the kids were,” Simpson said. “She told me her kids weren’t there that weekend. That was a blessing.”
Unable to reach a trapped woman from one side of the house, he circled to the rear and found her pinned beneath a section of collapsed roof.
“You could see her hand and arm, and she was screaming for help,” Simpson said.
He said the woman was lying on a mattress beneath debris. Simpson lifted the collapsed section of roof and attempted to free her.
“I kept looking over my shoulder and seeing heavier and heavier smoke coming,” he said. “I told her, ‘We’ve got to get out of this house. If you don’t get out now, we’re probably not going to get out.’”
“As soon as I got her out and turned around, there were 30 to 40-foot flames coming from the house,” he said. “There was no way anybody was going back in.”
The flames were higher than the top of a large tree next to the house.
A former firefighter, Simpson said his training helped him remain calm and navigate the smoke-filled structure.
“The key to everything is staying calm,” he said. “You can’t let yourself get too overly worked up because then you can’t do anything.”
Simpson also downplayed his role, saying he simply did what he hoped someone would do for his own family.
“I wish I could have done more,” he said. “I have a family too. I hope somebody would do it for me.”
Mason Simpson (left) discusses the Thornton Street explosion and fire with Water Valley Fire Chief Mark McGavock while reviewing a diagram of the destroyed home.
