ATHENS, Ohio -- A Cincinnati couple who are students at Ohio University survived a terrifying gas explosion in their Athens apartment Sunday, but they're looking for help rebuilding their lives after losing everything.
"The entire place blew up" as soon as 21-year-old Brandon Jones ignited the gas-fired stove at his girlfriend's apartment, he told the Athens News.
"I was trapped in there, and at one point I just gave up and started screaming because I thought I was going to die in there," Jones said. "If it wasn’t for the building collapsing and letting air in, I would have died."
Jones suffered second-degree burns to his face, neck, arms and hands, and he and his girlfriend Haley Schaefer, 20, lost all their clothes, furniture and other belongings in the incident.
Both Jones and Schaefer are originally from the Cincinnati area, and Schaefer told the Athens News they would likely move back to Cincinnati to live with family once Jones is released from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
A GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $1,300 for the couple. Donate to their cause at the website here.
