20-Year-Old Was Watching the NFL When Blast Took Her Life

A 20-year-old woman who died in Thursday's explosion and fire in  San Bruno was at her boyfriend's house when the disaster struck, a friend  said Friday.

Jessica Morales and her boyfriend, Joe Ruigomez, a 19-year-old  Skyline College student, went back to Ruigomez's home to watch the first  football game of the NFL season after his classes Thursday, according to a  friend who did not want to be named, but is also a Skyline College student.
     
On Ruigomez's Facebook page, he wrote in a post dated 4:35 p.m.  Thursday, "Finally the NFL season has arrived, gonna be a good year."
     
But at about 6:15 p.m., the explosion rocked the Crestmoor Canyon  neighborhood near the home, creating a fireball about 80 feet high.  Ruigomez's home caught fire, apparently trapping Morales inside, according to  the friend, a 19-year-old San Bruno resident.
     
Ruigomez stayed inside, desperately trying to save Morales, but  eventually was forced to leave the home to save his own life, the friend  said.
     
He was eventually taken to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San  Francisco, where he is in critical condition with severe burns, the friend  said.
     
Ruigomez is one of four victims of the fire who are in critical  condition at the hospital.
     
Dr. Michael Kulick said Friday that doctors will begin removing  non-vital skin tissue from the patients over the next few days for skin  grafts.
     
The patients will likely remain at the burn center for at least  six to eight weeks more, Kulick said. He said he hoped to have a better  assessment of their conditions by Sunday.
    

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