Neighbors, school help Dallas explosion victims

DALLAS – The Oak Cliff community is rallying around a family that lost all of their possessions when their home exploded early Tuesday morning.

Dallas Fire-Rescue confirms it was a gas leak that caused the fireball that blew through the house, burning the six members of the Rodriguez family inside, and leaving their home in ruins.

ALSO SEE: Gas link confirmed as cause

RAW VIDEO: Surveillance video of explosion

What's left of 1612 Champagne Drive saw a steady stream of investigators and insurance adjusters Wednesday, but down the block, real work began to get the family back on their feet.

"As soon as we heard about the explosion, neighbors began rallying to try and help the family in any way that we possibly could," said Tony Nuncio, president of the Oak Park Estates Neighborhood Association. He's working on a plan to replace some of what was lost.

"We are trying to determine now where we can store physical items that are being donated by family, other family members, as well as neighbors — such as general household goods, clothing, maybe some furniture," he said.

Beyond that, there are medical bills, so Nuncio created a donation page at GoFundMe.com.

"We got that set up late last night," he said. "We already have over $600 that's been donated from various people on that site."

The Rodriguez family has a third-grader and a sixth-grader attending Harry Stone Montessori Academy, where classmates and educators are also reaching out.

"It's a part of our mission to take care of our own, so we immediately stepped into action and did whatever we could to help out the family," said Brian Smith, the school's technology coordinator.

Smith said the school has raised some $400 for the family. Some teachers went out and bought clothing, while others went to visit them at Parkland Hospital.

"We currently do have some teachers who are down there right now at the hospital, checking on the family, making sure they have some food to eat," Smith said. "They'll relay the information back to us."

Both communities just want to ease the burden of living through a terrifying explosion.