Blast victim: 'there's more anger now'

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WANE) - Two weeks ago, an overwhelmed Tony Burnett knew an end became a beginning.  The northeast Indiana native has prepared to lose the home he built seven years ago with his wife in Indianapolis.

The couple lived across the street from the center of a deadly home explosion that leveled two homes, killing two people.  The blast doomed more than 30 other houses for demolition, a process that started Tuesday.

The Burnetts’ home has been scheduled to be torn down on December 3.  That date could be delayed because the home is included in an area police sectioned off during the homicide investigation.

“If this turns out that this was a criminal act, it just becomes one of those things that we look back and think, ‘man, the selfishness’ and all of the destruction this is doing to these 30 families,” Burnett said.  “There’s more anger in it now.”

Since the blast, the couple’s insurance company made quick work of finding a new place to stay.  Tony and his wife moved out of a hotel on Monday and into a rental home.

“Now that we’ve had the chance to get down this road a little bit, things are starting to look a little better.  It’s easier now to kind of see the path that we’re on and see that there will eventually be an end to this thing,” Burnett said.

Burnett has been allowed to return to his home only three times since the explosion on November 10.