'Miracle' As Dad And Daughter Escape Gas Blast A four-year-old girl and her father have had a "miraculous" escape after their home was reduced to rubble by a gas explosion. Neighbours pulled the 36-year-old man and his daughter from the remains of the property following the loud explosion at the property in Howards Grove, Shirley, Southampton, at 1.30am. Remarkably, both suffered only minor injuries. They were helped from the rubble by neighbour Wesley Flood, who was woken up by the explosion. He said: "I grabbed my torch as I used to work for the ambulance service and I went down there. The end-of-terrace property collapsed and nearby homes were evacuated There was a little girl sitting on the railings so I picked her up and carried her away. We went back and the father was behind the wall, his knees touching his chin, he was curled up. I managed to haul him out and we took him where his daughter was and we waited for the ambulance. Mr Flood, a home delivery driver, said they were "shook up" and had suffered cuts and bruises. The kid was shocked, she was crying on and off from the shock of it all. They were lucky to be alive," he added. I didn't know what to think when I heard the bang, I thought at first it might have been a car accident. Firefighters received numerous calls about the explosion Kevin Cook, who lives next door, said it had caused major damage to his house. He said: "I saw brick rubble all over the conservatory, the doors were all blown off, the big patio doors all blown off, the TV was over on its face, everything just crashed - it's like the house has had a great big shake. The walls are all done in. As I went to the front door, the toilet's all gone, that's all just rubble. I was concerned for next door but, to be honest, I didn't think they would have made it, but they have. It's unbelievable. The father has been named locally as Jay Sabanal. His wife, Liberty, is believed to have been at work at a local hospital when the explosion happened. The pair's escape was described as miraculous A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) spokesman said they received about a dozen calls alerting them to the incident. He said: "The father and daughter were taken to hospital as a precaution but are not thought to have been seriously injured." Station manager Steve Buchanan-Lee said: "The fact both of them escaped relatively unharmed is nothing short of a miracle. The explosion appears to have been caused by gas and reduced the whole property to rubble. The other houses in the terrace were evacuated as a precaution as the crews, assisted by HFRS' Urban Search and Rescue team, worked to ensure there was no further collapse of the building. Engineers from the gas board and Southampton City Council were also called to further investigate the cause of the explosion.