Dave Zimmerle spent a recent Sunday morning painting trim on his on Birch Drive home near Wonder Lake before laying down for a nap.

He was asleep the evening of May 17 when his next door neighbor’s home exploded. Zimmerle walked out of his house that night with nothing but the clothes he had on and his wallet. He’s been allowed back in just once, to get his cellphone and a few other odds and ends he needed.

Fencing now surrounds both home sites as investigators determine if Zimmerle’s house in structurally sound. He’s been told the blast shifted the house off its foundation. He’s been staying at a McHenry-area hotel since that night.

“It has been deemed unoccupiable and not safe,” McHenry County Director of Planning & Development, Adam Wallen, said of the home’s current condition. Wallen has not been on site himself, but as the county code enforcement agency is in contact with investigators.

The 7:50 p.m. explosion killed one woman, identified as Sandra Patnaude, and injured her husband, Dean Patnaude, and son, Andrew Patnaude.

The explosion ripped the power lines away from Zimmerle’s house next door and collapsed the chimney, Wallen said.

Most strikingly, the Patnaude home’s roof landed on Zimmerle’s roof, Wallen said.

Zimmerle works overnights, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., but had that Saturday, Sunday and Monday off that weekend.

“I got off on Saturday morning and got prepped to paint. I painted the garage door and anything with dark trim,” he said.

He worked on the house until about 1 p.m. Sunday. “I cleaned up and went inside to relax and fell asleep,” he said.

He woke up to the explosion. He had the presence of mind to grab his wallet – something his sister had mentioned doing when her Arizona house caught fire a few years ago, Zimmerle said.

Had he not thought of that, he may not have had the ID and credit cards needed to get him through the past few weeks, Zimmerle said.

After the explosion, he walked into a nearby bar with no shoes or shirt on, said Kim Doran of East End Pizza and Ice Cream. She was able to help connect Zimmerle to the Red Cross that night and is working on a fundraising event for the Patnaude family.

“One of the first people there was the Red Cross,” Zimmerle said this week. “They gave me a stipend for clothes ... to get to work.”

He’s working with his insurance company, which is also now paying for his hotel stay, while waiting to see if the home he’s owned for 17 years will be a total loss.

Zimmerle was also forced to buy a different car. He only had liability insurance on his two older cars – a 2005 and a 2009 – and they are not covered by homeowner’s insurance.

“All of the glass is shattered” on those two cars, Zimmerle said.

A third car sitting inside the garage is a newer Corvette. That car has full coverage, but he cannot get to it. He’s unsure of its condition and will not be until he is allowed inside.

In the meantime, his replacement car is getting him to and from work. He purchased a vehicle that is the same make and model as one of the totaled cars so he can continue to use the same snow tires and rims.

Because a death was involved, the investigation is taking its time, Wallen said, adding Zimmerle’s home isn’t condemned but is tagged to prohibit entrance. Repairs will be needed before anyone other than investigators – from insurance companies, fire and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office – can enter.

The Zimmerle home and the now-flattened Patnaude home are the only two that are fenced off, Wallen said. Other houses in the area have superficial damage to siding or windows.

If other neighbors believe they have more damage, they should call their insurance providers, Wallen added.

Nearly three weeks after the explosion, Zimmerle is waiting to find out what’s next – if he will be able to get anything else out of the home or the garage. He knows a structural engineer has been on site, as has an insurance adjustor and an attorney for the insurance company.

“I don’t know if I will ever be made whole,” Zimmerle said.