Late last month, a building explosion in New York City killed two people and injured dozens more. The explosion ended up leveling three different buildings. But what was the cause of this tragedy? While the investigation is still ongoing, it appears that a gas leak was behind everything. Months ago, residents of the building said they smelled gas, and the leak was fixed. But gas began leaking into the building once again, and this time it was not taken care of before it caused massive amounts of damage to both people and property.
Currently, officials believe that the leak wasn’t simply an accident. They think that people intentionally rigged the pipes in a way that would allow them to steal gas. While this may seem extreme, it’s actually a problem that’s more common than you may think. There have been almost a dozen similar incidents in the last 5 years, and that’s not even counting all of the incidents of gas theft that hasn’t ended in an explosion.
There are a few ways to combat these thefts. Gas companies need to be aware of what is going on in the buildings they supply gas too, and they can trace the leaks by regularly inspecting the area. There are also a few red flags, like someone who has a gas bill that suddenly is a lot lower than it should be for any given month of the year.
If you need assistance with an investigation involving any type of gas leak that led to a fire or explosion, we can help. Contact the team at John Michael Agosti & Associates today to learn more!
At Agosti & Associates we provide consulting and expert witness services in the areas of Fire/Explosion Investigations; Fire and Building Codes; and Fire Department Operations and Procedures.
