Working overtime might have saved woman from home explosion

Mary Ilene Tarapacki said she’s blessed to be alive.

Her home was destroyed in Thursday night’s explosion on Covington Road in North Buffalo. She likely would have been home at the time, had she not worked overtime at the Buffalo Medical Group.

Buffalo Police say her 73-year-old neighbor blew-up his home on purpose in a suicide attempt. Tarapacki lost nearly 30 years of memories.

“God was with us, I tell you,” Tarapacki said.

The North Buffalo woman said she’s also grateful to her neighbor, Marine veteran Lee Keysor. He kicked in her back door to pull Tarapacki’s two dogs to safety.

"We made sure the dogs were okay. We got them in the neighbor’s house. Making sure nobody else incredible lucky that no one was in the house either house. That was an absolute miracle to me, itself,” Keysor said.

This neighborhood is coming together to support the two innocent neighboring families who lost everything.

“It’s difficult, but the saving grace is that we all safe and even the gentlemen who tried to blow up his house he’s safe too,” Tarapacki said.

Tarapacki said she forgives her neighbor for what he did and she’s going to take life one day at a time as she starts from scratch.

A YouCaring page has been set up to help Tarapacki, click here to donate.