"Debris was flying into the air," Davis said. "I heard someone screaming and ran into the building."

He hesitated momentarily as he looked for a way in, but once inside Davis saw a man lying under some of the rubble. He was badly burned, and his shirt was on fire.

"I unburied him and ripped off the guy's shirt," Davis said.

Davis helped the man, Jeff White, out of the building, but Davis said White had one major concern: He wanted to know if his friend Victor Gomez was OK.

At approximately 3:43 p.m. on Jan. 7, two plumbers were installing a water heater at the Los Gatos Auto Mall, 15200 Los Gatos Blvd. at Lark Avenue. The building is the former site of the Flames Restaurant.

The two workers were in the attic area of the building when a major gas leak ensued, followed by one of the workers yelling "Down!" Then, a massive explosion blasted the building, leaving three people injured.

The two workers, Jeff White, 49, and Victor Gomez, 25, sustained critical burn injuries, while a third person sustained minor burn injuries. The explosion knocked the two workers in different directions when they fell through the roof, according to Davis, and they immediately started looking for each other. Until they reunited, both were more concerned about each other's well being than their own injuries.

Sales representative Rod Anthony was in the building when the blowout occurred.

"They were working to put in a new water heater, and apparently there were strong fumes, and I said, 'don't anybody light any matches,' " said Anthony. "I had just walked out the door, and there was a big concussion explosion. There was a fireball shooting 20 feet into the air. I was moved forward by the concussion."

Anthony immediately went back into the building to look for Larry Mudgett, one of the co-owners of the Los Altos Leasing Company, after the doors to the building had been blown open.

"I could see fire shooting out the roof," Anthony said.

Anthony cleared the area away from Mudgett's desk, only to find that Mudgett had already been taken outside to safety. He described Mudgett's hair and face as being burned. Mudgett had been in the process of forming a partnership with Auto Mall co-owners Ron and Janice Battistella.

According to Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Sgt. Joe De Prima, Mudgett, Gomez and White were rushed to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. As of Jan. 10, the hospital's Public Information Officer Joy Alexiou reported Gomez was in fair condition, while White was still in critical condition. Critical condition, according to Alexiou, means White's vital signs are not stable and that indicators are unfavorable. White has burns over 60 percent of his body.

Anthony described the explosion as taking place in the center of the building, and knocking out the front, right area of the offices.

"It blew pieces of the building out, 6-foot by 8-foot pieces into the air—big chunks of walls," Anthony said.

The two-alarm fire took more than an hour to contain, and the building was at first declared unsafe for emergency crews to enter and conduct a thorough search, according to Santa Clara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Joe Parker. Using a ladder positioned above the building's roof, firefighters doused the blaze with gallons of water—turning the air a smoky, black color. Pacific Gas and Electric crews pinched off the gas line shortly after the explosion was reported and later inspected the building to make sure there was no further gas leak.

No major damage was done to nearby structures, Parker said, but the Auto Mall building along with some luxury vehicles in the parking lot were destroyed. A number of cars parked nearby had their windows blown out from the force of the blast. The fire department estimated $500,000 in property losses and $1 million in content losses as of Jan. 10. The fire was determined to have been completely accidental, Parker said.

In the aftermath of the explosion, the area swarmed with more than 40 emergency vehicles, Parker said, including at least five helicopters, fire engines, ambulances, and numerous police cars. Officers blocked off streets and the Lark Avenue freeway exit, diverting traffic away from the accident.

Los Gatos residents Lia Coniglo and Meghan Long were shopping inside the Office Depot when they felt the explosion.

"We thought it was an earthquake," Coniglo said. "We saw all this debris. We had no idea what was going on."

The young women also saw Gomez and White, both badly burned.

"I just stood by the guy that [Mike] helped out and tried to keep him talking," Coniglo said. "I could tell he was in shock. But he didn't want to stand there. He just wanted to find his friend."

"It's amazing they were able to walk out," Coniglo said.

After the explosion Coniglo said the men just kept saying, "I can't believe I'm alive."

The explosion was so strong it was felt by nearby residents in their homes, and as far away as the Saratoga Fire Station, according to the battalion chief. It also shook the windows and building at the Carl's Jr., which is more than a block south of the Auto Mall on Los Gatos Boulevard.

Willow Glen resident Stella Raffin was inside the fast-food chain with her children, 7-year-old Giovanna and 12-year-old Dominic.

"We had just stopped to get something to eat after going to the doctor," she said. "There was a real big boom and we saw people running out of the stores. I looked at my children and said, 'Oh my God, what was that? Let's get up and go.'"

Her daughter said she saw the windows shaking. And her son said, "I thought we were having a big earthquake."

Anthony said he's just glad everyone was OK.

But for residents near the scene it was a stark reminder how quickly a day can turn from the routine to the unexpected.

"Things just started out normal," Davis said. "You just never think how a day can change so really fast."

To which Long added, "Life is just fragile."