At about 6 pm Thursday, September 9th, residents of a San Bruno neighborhood were hit by what seemed like an earthquake or a crashing plane. A horrendous roar filled the air and the ground shook violently. A Pacific Gas and Electric gas line ruptured sending a ball of fire twenty to thirty feet into the sky for almost an hour. The fire quickly spread from house to house as residents frantically evacuated. Over one hundred people were moved to evacuation centers while several others sought treatment for burns and smoke inhalation at the Kaiser Medical Center.
At least twelve TDA students’ families were affected by the blast. TDA owners, Paul and Tiffany Henderson quickly sent out an email to all TDA families in an effort to gather information about the safety of each of the families and ask for donations. As of September 10th they had status updates on six of the families.
Bryan and Melanie Parkin were one of the families TDA was concerned about. They were forced to evacuate with their seven-year-old daughter, Danielle, who takes class at Tiffany’s just after the explosion. Bryan had been talking to his mother on the phone when his house on Concord Way began to shake. As he fled with his family “the vinyl from the windows was melting into the grass, it was so hot.” At 11:30 p.m. when they checked in at a Red Cross shelter at San Bruno Park, they still didn’t know if their home had survived the flames. They weren’t optimistic because they knew the house across the street had burned to the ground. Melanie remarked that they had grown up there and “knew everyone in the neighborhood. We’d gone to school with them. I’m just so grateful to be alive.” Their home and belongings suffered moderate damages.
Teacher and administrator, Nicole Pope was amazed to see Katelyn Leong in class in spite of the blast that destroyed her home. According to Nicole, the first words out of Katelyn’s mouth were, “My clothes burnt in the fire.” She showed up to class in a black and pink leotard, pink skirt, and flip-flops. Katelyn was happy, talkative, and excited to be back in class despite the recent tragedy. Her family lost their entire home and her father was hospitalized after the explosion. He is now in recovery.
“We were amazed at the overwhelming generosity of our TDA family from all seven locations, including large donations from our families in Orange County,” remarked Tiffany. “It warms our hearts to know that we have a dance community that supports those in their time of need.” Families of TDA were successful in raising $4,000 as well as various donations of clothing, furniture, and other items. South San Francisco administrator Sharon Stenson experienced what she described as her own personal “Santa Clause moment” while distributing money and donated goods to families affected by the fire. She described recipients as overwhelmed and on the verge of tears in the face of so much support and generosity from such an unexpected place. Sharon remarked, “We have shown that we are truly a family–the Tiffany’s Dance Academy family!”
So many families still need your help recovering from this tragedy. If you wish to donate to victims of the San Bruno fire you can do so through the Salvation Army’s “San Bruno Fire Recovery” fund or through the Red Cross. It is amazing what we as a community can accomplish when we pull together to help others, and I am so proud to belong to a studio family that reaches out at times like this.
Written by Sarah Garske
