March 25, 2017, is a night that will never be forgotten in New Ferry. At 9:14 PM, a powerful gas explosion tore through the town, injuring 81 people and destroying 60 properties. Eight years later, residents are still rebuilding – both their homes and their lives.
Disaster struck out of the blue
For actor Christopher Power, who lived just across from the blast site, the memory is as vivid as ever. “The sun was shining that day, the town was busy, and everything felt normal,” he recalls. His wife, Pauline, was visiting family, and their son, Christopher, was performing in a school production of Footloose. Power had settled in for a quiet evening at home with his cat, Sparky. Then, without warning, disaster struck.
“My windows blew in with a huge bang, glass went everywhere, and Sparky bolted,” Power says. “I thought it was a car bomb. My first instinct was to get out.” He ran outside, barely taking in the chaos around him – alarms blaring, people screaming, and dust filling the air. When he finally turned back, he saw the devastation: the furniture store across the street, where children had been dancing earlier that day, was gone.
The shock of the explosion left many residents struggling to comprehend what had happened. Emergency services quickly arrived, evacuating homes and sealing off the area. Power remembers collapsing in exhaustion near a lamppost, unable to reach his wife and son, who had no idea if he had survived. “For what seemed like forever, I sat there watching people running, desperate to find their loved ones,” he says.
It wasn’t until later that night, through the chaos, that he finally saw Pauline and Christopher approaching. “We held each other, grateful to be alive,” he recalls.
A community in crisis
The aftermath of the explosion was just as harrowing. Many families, including the Powers, were unable to return to their homes for weeks. “We lost everything – our furniture, our clothes, even my mum’s Mother’s Day gift was still sitting there, covered in dust and glass,” Power says.
For two years, the family lived in temporary accommodation, still paying a mortgage on a house they couldn’t live in. “The financial burden was immense. We were juggling bills on both properties while trying to rebuild our lives.”
But it wasn’t just the physical loss that weighed on survivors – it was the emotional toll. “For years, I couldn’t walk past a shop window without feeling a surge of panic, afraid another explosion would happen,” Power admits.
Rebuilding New Ferry
Eight years later, the community is slowly recovering. New homes and businesses are emerging, but for many, the trauma remains. “New Ferry is rebuilding, but the scars are still there,” Power says.
He hopes to see more independent businesses return to the area, restoring the town’s once-thriving community. “We lost so much that night, but we’ve also shown resilience. Out of the ashes, a phoenix can rise.”
Though Power and his family have moved to a new home near Oxton Village, the memories of that night remain. “I’ll never forget it – the shock, the fear, the realization that I could have been standing by that window when it blew in.”
For the survivors, March 25 isn’t just a date – it’s a moment that changed everything. And while time moves forward, New Ferry will always remember.
All pictures provided by Christopher Lee-Power
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