I-Team: Damaged main found at house explosion site
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Damaged Gas Main At Explosion Site
A previously damaged natural gas main was discovered at the site of a deadly house explosion.
A previously damaged natural gas main was discovered at the site of a deadly house explosion in Somerset, the NBC 10 I-Team reported.
In a request from the town of Somerset for information about New England Gas Company’s investigation into the deadly blast, the I-Team uncovered some new information that could shed light on the cause of the explosion.
The Feb. 19 explosion killed the homeowner and her dog. About 200 people were forced to evacuate their homes.
The I-Team obtained a letter from New England gas Company to Town Administrator Dennis Luttrell. The letter says the gas company isolated a 200-foot section of gas main near the blast site.
“We can tell you that the 200-foot section ... was damaged and breached,“ the letter said. “That short section of the main appears to have been physically damaged by a third-party contractor sometime after it was installed in the 1960s.“
The gas company said a sewer main was installed in the 1970s and sewer tie-ins after that.
The company is not speculating at this time on who or what may have damaged the gas main, but the letter said that section of the gas main has been isolated and taken out of service.
The letter, from the gas company’s point of view, raises the possibility that whoever installed the sewer main or the sewer tie-ins may have inadvertently damaged the gas main, which was otherwise in excellent condition.
The letter was also sent to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities and the state fire marshal’s office. The two agencies had no comment.
Luttrell also had no comment.
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Reader Reactions
I thought the ‘Dig Safe’ program was supposed to be used by ANYONE who dug down into unknown soil. I suppose that the utility companies that signed onto the program that REQUIRES anyone else to call to have underground lines identified and labelled are exempt from the requirement they themselves signed onto.
The gas company will weasel their way out of this—just watch. Like was said before, that main was installed in the 1960s, supposedly damaged in the 1970s—or ‘breached’ as the gas company said—and then remained undiscovered until now? Something does NOT add up here.
My question is: Isn’t there some sort of inspection that can be done on these mains each time there is potential disruption by a third party contractor? If not, anyone with a natural gas connection to their home is at alot of risk.
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