Federal authorities are investigating two home explosions in Jackson, Mississippi, the first of which caused the death of an 82-year-old woman, and the second of which spread fire that destroyed a neighboring home last month.
Officials with the National Transportation and Safety Board — which oversees gas explosions in addition to its more customary aviation and rail accidents — released apreliminary reporton Tuesday following the two incidents, one of which claimed the life of Clara Barbour.
At approximately 8:14 a.m. local time on Jan. 24, “a home explosion and fire” occurred at 185 Bristol Blvd. in Jackson, which resulted in Barbour’s death and one injury, the NTSB stated.
The NTSB then added that “a second explosion” occurred at 1146 Shalimar Drive at 4:34 a.m. on Jan. 27, roughly 0.7 miles southeast of the first explosion. The fire from the second explosion then spread to a neighboring home, but no fatalities or injuries were reported from that incident.
All three homes involved in both explosions on Jan. 24 and Jan. 27 were destroyed, according to the NTSB’s report.
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The NTSB’s preliminary report stated that Atmos Energy Corporation provided natural gas to the homes involved in the explosions.
Although the NTSB found that the operating pressure of the pipeline was about 336 lbs. per square inch gauge (psig), underneath their maximum operable level, their report also revealed that Atmos identified “nonhazardous” leaks in their distribution system near the explosion locations before they happened. Still, it did not repair them at the time.“Both before and after NTSB investigators arrived, Atmos conducted postaccident leak inspections at both locations and found leaks on mechanical couplings near the previously identified leaks,” the agency’s report also stated. “Atmos detected subsurface gas at the leaks nearest locations 1 and 2, the homes where the explosions occurred, and near the foundations of adjacent homes.”
Earlier this month, Atmos officials met with residents, including some of the estimated 100 people who temporarily lost gas when the utility company initially cut the lines to investigate the issue, WAPT reported.
A second report, which will provide a more accurate description of the cause of the explosion and whether any safety measures were missed, could take up to 24 months to complete, Holloway said.
“The investigation is still very much in its infancy and ongoing," Holloway added.
source: people.com
