explosion, yesterday expressed eternal gratitude to her neighbours - particularly a 12-year-old boy who ran to her rescue.

Mrs. Arlene Denbrook was about to light the gas stove in her Anchorage View Road home around 11 a.m. last Sunday when she was literally blown out of her shoes by an explosion which knocked out windows, doors, and kitchen cupboards.

"I went to light the stove and all I heard was boom,'' she told The Royal Gazette . "I saw a big orange something and before I knew it I was blown out of my shoes which were left near the stove.'' The 29-year-old mother said she ran to see if her 14-month-old baby Rhianon, who was sleeping in another room, was all right, and called a cousin before collapsing.

Jamal Simmons, who was at his home a few yards away with his friend Willis Raynor, his mother Sharon, and his grandfather Mr. Vincent Tweed, felt the explosion.

The family, who thought the explosion came from the nearby oil docks, ran outside to look.

Leaving the others who were shoeless behind, 12-year-old Jamal ran into the Denbrook home where he found Mrs. Denbrook conscious, but lying in the hallway in pain.

"I put a pillow under her head and called 911,'' Jamal said, "They told me to get some cloths and ice packs to lay on her legs.

"It felt like my skin was on fire'' Mrs. Denbrook recalled. "All I remember is Jamal putting a pillow under my head and asking "You OK, you OK. Where's the baby.'' She said Jamal was yelling at 911 dispatcher to get help fast. The Police, Fire Services and ambulance arrived within minutes, she said.

The Whitney Institute student was not required to administer CPR but said he would not have hesitated to do so because he had learned it at a pioneer camp in Canada.

Jamal, who once helped a little girl who ran into difficulty while swimming at Admiralty House, said initially no-one at school believed his story about the explosion.

However that did not seem to bother the modest teenager who hardly viewed his actions as something out of the ordinary.

But Mrs. Denbrook said: "I was just so surprised at his bravery, especially for a young person.

"The youth are always downplayed so much. He did not have to come in. But he really wanted to help and he did a wonderful job. For a few minutes he took over and knew exactly what to do.'' She also thanked all the neighbours who came to her assistance.

"Thank you is just not enough,'' she said. "They just came in. There wasn't a second thought that there could have been another explosion.

"I'm just grateful that nothing serious happened,'' said Mrs. Denbrook, who only sustained burns to her left foot and the loss of one eyebrow which she joked "is nothing a little eyebrow pencil can't fix''.

The explosion is believed to have been caused by a gas leak from a pilot light.

ETERNALLY GRATEFUL - Mrs. Arlene Denbrook thanks her hero 12-year-old Jamal Simmons for helping to save her and her baby's lives during a gas explosion last Sunday at her Ferry Reach home.