Report: Downed power line caused Pinehurst home explosion
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SEATTLE -- The explosion that leveled a Pinehurst home and hospitalized its two residents last year was the result of a downed power line several blocks away, according to a report issued Dec. 26.
Residents of the home in the 12300 block of Fifth Avenue Northeast went to bed Sept. 25, 2011 despite a faint smell of gas. When they began to turn lights and appliances on the next morning, their home exploded.
The blast was heard for miles and broke the windows out of nearby homes.
According to safety staff from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, which monitors natural gas pipeline safety in the state, the events that caused the explosion started with a downed power line blocks away.
When the power line came down Sept. 25, it energized a metal fence post, which then energized an abandoned, buried metal water pipe, according to the report.
The electrical current then surged to the natural gas line, punching four finger-sized holes into it, according to the report.
Puget Sound Energy workers found and repaired three of the four leaks but missed the fourth.
According to the report, the leak likely filled the home’s crawlspace with gas before exploding.
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission safety staff are recommending penalties against Puget Sound Energy for violating gas safety rules by not surveying all the gas lines in the area for leaks.
Residents of the home in the 12300 block of Fifth Avenue Northeast went to bed Sept. 25, 2011 despite a faint smell of gas. When they began to turn lights and appliances on the next morning, their home exploded.
The blast was heard for miles and broke the windows out of nearby homes.
According to safety staff from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, which monitors natural gas pipeline safety in the state, the events that caused the explosion started with a downed power line blocks away.
When the power line came down Sept. 25, it energized a metal fence post, which then energized an abandoned, buried metal water pipe, according to the report.
The electrical current then surged to the natural gas line, punching four finger-sized holes into it, according to the report.
Puget Sound Energy workers found and repaired three of the four leaks but missed the fourth.
According to the report, the leak likely filled the home’s crawlspace with gas before exploding.
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission safety staff are recommending penalties against Puget Sound Energy for violating gas safety rules by not surveying all the gas lines in the area for leaks.
A couple years ago I smelled natural gas in front of my house. I called PSE and they came out, sniffed my lines, didn't find any thing and left. A week later I still smelled the gas, so I called them again. The second time they sniffed my neighbors houses and found a significant leak at a neighbor's meter.
 @Vinnie i also had this happen - took them 3 times to find but once they did they where like "good thing you called..."Â
they, the puget sound energy is asking for solutions, install a meter every so few yards. one that doesn't cost money ????? install gas detectors that inform an area . men cant smell gas like lady's can so might as well rely on computers
 @maggie112 Heh, it's true at our house, too.
 @maggie112 where are you getting this "fact" from? it sounds like your talking out your assÂ
@ troglidite: I doubt that any of the workers were on drugs. Â The house sat in a "cul de sac", that looked more like a dark alley. It was missed (or not part of the surveyed area that night)... it was NOT ignored. Â People are not perfect, not even gas employees, plus no one called the gas company when they were smelling gas that night.Â
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IF YOU SMELL GAS, DON'T WAIT, CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR PSE. Â Â Â Â
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You cannot sue GOD for causing the winds to cause a down tree and the series of unfortunate events that followed. PSE's "fault" was from the effect and not the cause. Â I'm sure that the finger has to be pointed at someone... why not go to the ones with the big pockets?
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IF YOU SMELL GAS, DON'T WAIT, CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR PSE. Â Â
This yet another very good reason to continue to, and make better, drug testing in many workplaces. Somebody also should be out of a gig here. OK, a lot of people!
@Troglidite Wow! Found your favorite pet horse and decided to just go for a ride, huh?
How about plain and simple laziness coupled with management cost-cutting? "Oh, you patched three? That's probably good enough. No sense wasting all that overtime looking for more! Come on back, guys!"
 @Troglidite You're suggesting the workers were on drugs of some kind? Don't see any mention of that in the story.
Geeze, don't even need a lawyer for this lawsuit..
@Windowseat Unfortunately ... our system will always require a lawyer.
 @Bomarc  @Windowseat Read the US Constitution, You, all of us, have a constitutional right, actually shouldn't even need mention of it there, to bring suit for anything for $20 or something like that. Although it's true that corrupt politicians and a corrupt judicial system have chipped away at it over the years, for instance Labor & Industries, by creating a special class of citizens who have immunity from civil lawsuits. So you don't like the idea that US citizens have a right to seek justice in a court of law? Would you rather fall back to the eye for an eye by the injured party? That would be ok with me. But I must have one or the other.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. The only part I find unfortunate is the cost of a lawyer.
 @uscit16791949  @Bomarc  @Windowseat "Although it's true that corrupt politicians and a corrupt judicial system have chipped away at it over the years..."
Yeah, they call it "tort reform". I call it "shield laws".
@uscit16791949 @Windowseat You are missing the point. The law (as drafted by lawyers) has become so complex, that anyone that represents themselves has a fool for a client. (I _know_ that you can represent yourself, that was not at issue)
....should make for an ironclad lawsuit for the survivors....