SCHENECTADY Blast levels home, burns two BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Residents of a house on Avenue B got out minutes before it exploded Wednesday, leaving a fi reball and smoke that could seen across much of the city’s North Side neighborhood. Firefighters received a 911 call about 3:30 p.m. reporting a gas leak at a house at 2164 Avenue B. The caller told authorities that all the residents were told to evacuate, according to Fire Chief Michael Della Rocco. “By the time Engine 4 got here, which is at the end of Avenue A, the house had already exploded,” he said. The residents had gotten out safely from the structure, which was reduced to rubble. The duplex at 2160-2162 Avenue B had heavy damage but may be salvageable, according to fi re officials. The house on the other side of 2164 Avenue B had some melted siding but appeared to be fairly good shape. Della Rocco said the incident is not considered suspicious, but officials will be examining it more closely. The damage is consistent with a natural gas explosion, he explained, as the sides of the building were pushed out like a cardboard box. The natural gas rose throughout the house until it was ignited, he said. The Public Service Commission and the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control is assisting with the investigation. Mayor Gary McCarthy said a preliminary investigation indicated an electrician was called to the house for an electrical panel problem that required immediate action. He may have called the city to inform the electrical inspector, rather than pulling a permit, because of the immediate need, McCarthy said. He said it’s not clear how that work ruptured the gas line, but the electrician may have hit the pipe while drilling to place a grounded line. The city’s Building Department did a quick check for permits and did not fi nd any in the vicinity of that address but will do a more thorough investigation today. The property owner for 2164 Avenue B is listed as Nabeel and Abood Shohatee. Marian Zajac and Christoph Orlik own the duplex next door, according to county records. The loud explosion rattled the North Side and sent fl ames more than three stories in the air. “My whole house shook like we were hit with an earthquake. I felt my whole body shake,” said Bart Gibeault, who lives on Salina Street. ....................>>>>...................>>>>...................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01102&AppName=1
Report: Gas line puncture led to house explosion BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.net.
Electrical work that punctured a gas line and led to an Avenue B house explosion last month did not violate state regulations on locating gas lines before digging, a state commission ruled. The work didn’t violate the protocol because it was done from inside the house, by an electrician drilling into the basement wall to ground the home’s electrical system. That work, the state Public Service Commission concluded, was the cause of the puncture and the home exploding, a finding that mirrored local investigators’ fi ndings. The commission is responsible for distribution and transmission of energy, including natural gas, and investigates accidents involving natural gas. The explosion happened Jan. 4 at 2164 Avenue B. No one was injured, as all residents got out safely moments before. An electrician was working in the basement on an emergency basis after some shorting or malfunction in the box, Mayor Gary McCarthy said. City Fire Department investigators, working alongside investigators from the Public Service Commission, National Grid and OSHA, found the tools used by the electrician and the location of where the line was breached in placing the grounding rod, Fire Chief Michael Della Rocco said. The electrician had notifi ed the city of the work; standard practice for emergency work includes getting the permit the next day, Mc-Carthy said. But in drilling for the grounding rod the bit hit the gas line. “I think this was just one of those one-in-a-million events that we’re just fortunate nobody was hurt or killed in it,” McCarthy said. .......................>>>>....................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01701&AppName=1
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