NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 63
Newspapers reported that firefighters
spent over three hours extinguishing
the fire. In addition to the three townhouses in which the fire was initially
concentrated, three other adjoining
units were determined to be uninhabitable, according to news reports.
The gas company technician and one
civilian were transported to the hospital for treatment of traumatic injuries.
Available information does not indicate
whether the report of a missing occupant was a false report, but there were
no fatalities or additional injuries as a
result of the fire and explosion.
In post-incident interviews, investigators learned that a resident of one
of the adjoining townhouses called the
gas company after smelling a natural
gas odor when she arrived home at 6:15
p.m. The responding technician investigated the odor in her home and advised
that he needed to access a neighboring
unit, where his meter recorded steadily
climbing gas levels inside the garage.
He then discovered that a gas pipe
inside the garage was broken at the
area of a 90-degree coupling.
The technician instructed residents
to evacuate the building, then shut off
the gas at the exterior of the structure
and went to his truck to retrieve gloves
in order to pull the electric meter and
eliminate a source of ignition. He told
investigators that the last thing he
could remember prior to the explosion
was opening the doors of his truck.
Investigators later learned that a
resident of the center townhouse had
earlier backed into the natural gas
equipment while parking her vehicle in
the garage. Investigators were unable
to determine the source of ignition,
but noted that there were multiple
possible sources, including energized
electrical devices.
In a newspaper account of the
incident, a spokesperson for the gas
company urged the public to immediately report any suspected gas leak
after first moving to a safe location,
cautioning that any electronic device
could act as an ignition source.
Damage to the structure and contents of the townhouse where the
explosion originated was estimated at
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL
| 63
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2017
Contents
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - BB1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - BB2
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Contents
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 3
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 4
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 5
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 6
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 7
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 8
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 14
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 15
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 16
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 16a
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 16b
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 17
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 19
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 20
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 21
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Cover3
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