Restaurant demolition underway at Florida City strip mall months after gas explosion left 10 injured

A building at a strip mall in Florida City is being torn down months after it was damaged by a gas explosion News cameras on Thursday captured demolition crews hard at work Almost seven months after the propane blast rocked the shopping plaza on West Palm Drive near Southwest th Avenue the condemned structure is being brought down However the scars remain for the people that were injured and affected by the aftermath that day in May Syndy Thelemaque tearfully watched from outside as crews took apart what remained of her dream restaurant which was supposed to have its grand opening when it exploded You know I m just trying to keep it moving she commented At the time Thelemaque had just left her restaurant Caribbean Heart with her -year-old child just minutes before the explosion Unfortunateky her husband was still inside He will never be the same and I have four kids I have two little ones I have two kids under I have to hold everything deal with attorneys and all of those things this is a lot commented Thelemaque Her husband Roussain Thelemaque suffered severe burns and head injuries He had to be airlifted to the hospital Now the couple are being represented by attorney Stephanie Ducheine-Walsh We ve filed our lawsuit against Florigas noted Ducheine-Walsh So a multitude of people are in so much problems just because of one simple thing explained Thelemaque Ducheine-Walsh maintains Florigas failed to follow their own safety protocols and test for a gas leak The attorney disclosed Florigas crews did an inspection two weeks before the explosion and were there again the day it happened They were helping them light all of the equipment and what happened was they went to light a fryer and when Florigas employee who has been deposed held down that button to light the actual fryer the explosion took place revealed Ducheine-Walsh Thelemaque who is a tutor had poured her life savings into this business much like the other business owners in the mall who must now start over and fight for what they say is right At the end of the day they want Florigas to take responsibility It s in the fire review that they were negligent noted Ducheine-Walsh It is a miracle that we re still alive and that s why I m grateful every day for being alive Obviously I lost everything and I m in so much financial strain right now because we never planned for this to happen disclosed Thelemaque I put everything we had into the opening of this all licensing you know hire engineer hire everybody that we need to get and boom within a second we lost everything Demolition crews could be seen taking out stoves and other appliances that will be preserved as evidence for this situation The lawsuit and the inquiry into this gas explosion is still ongoing