Groundbreaking for the first home to be rebuilt in the neighborhood ravaged by a PG&E gas-line explosion was marked Tuesday with applause, a sparkling wine toast and excited words from local leaders.
Bob Hensel, 72, and wife Nancy, 75, plan to begin the work to replace their home on Fairmont Drive in June. They are the first of the 38 families whose houses were destroyed in the Sept. 9 blast that killed eight people to get building permits.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, said the work is more than building a home. “This is about rebirth, it’s about resilience and it’s about remembering,” she told the crowd of reporters and residents gathered for the occasion.
San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane said Bob Hensel passed him a note in the days after the tragedy promising to be the first to rebuild. “I put my hand on his shoulder, and I said, ‘I’m going to be there to dig that hole and cut that ribbon,’ ” Ruane said. “And here we are today — eight months after.”
