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Survivor of Nashville explosion: 'I feel very lucky on this Christmas to be here'

Witness shares his firsthand account of explosion
Posted at 12:38 PM, Dec 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-27 12:38:16-05

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Buck McCoy is just one of many survivors from Nashville's Christmas explosion. Friday night he stayed at a friend's house but said he's not sure what's left of his Lofts at 160 home.

"About 5:30 or so I heard some gunshots - it sounded like four or five, maybe six gunshots. I looked out the window and didn't see anything," said McCoy.

That's when he went back to bed, a decision he believes saved his life.

"Within maybe ten minutes of that a huge explosion, which completely ripped the walls apart of my house, stuff was coming down on me, there was dust everywhere," McCoy said.

He got out of bed to find his face and hands bleeding from broken glass and debris.

"You know I was looking out the window just ten minutes before the whole explosion, so if I had picked that moment where it exploded to be looking out the window, I feel very lucky on this Christmas to be here. It was that close," he said.

McCoy managed to capture cell phone video immediately after the blast as people desperately looked for safety.

"I was really thinking that there was some kind of a war going on and that this could be something that I wouldn't get through, that I would not make it through," McCoy said.

He eventually walked to a friend's house where he has been staying ever since. McCoy said at one point he did go back home to look for his cat but firemen sent him away. He said he has not been able to return since.

This story was first published by Olivia Michael at WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee.