2019 Durham gas explosion: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:48, 5 October 2021

Revision as of 23:58, 20 October 2021

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Passersby rushed to the scene quickly after the explosion, seeking to help the injured, while others helped motorists who were trapped in their cars by inflated [[Airbag|airbags]]. City firefighters soon began arriving to fight a fire triggered by the explosion. Once the blaze was extinguished, a search-and-rescue effort began; it continued until the evening of the following day.

Following an investigation, officials in the Durham Fire Department released a report<ref>https://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/local/2019/08/09/18560197/8.8.19_N_Duke_Street_Gas_Explosion_Report___Appendices-DMID1-5jr9s37is.pdf</ref> which determined that a three person crew from [[Optic Cable Technology]] digging horizontally to install underground cables breached a {{Convert|3/4 inch|in|cm|0|adj=on}} gas line in front of Kaffeinate on the morning of the explosion. Shop owner Kong Lee went outside to complain about the gas smell – the report includes images from a nearby security camera that shows Lee waving his hand in front of his nose as he talked with the crew – but there was no evidence that Lee or anyone from Optic Cable called 911 to report the gas leak. The report was unable to determine what ignited the estimated {{Convert|46,000 cubic feet|cuft}} of natural gas that leaked out of the ruptured pipe in the roughly 60 minutes from the initial breach to the explosion at 10:06{{nbsp}}am.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wral.com/investigation-identifies-who-cut-gas-line-that-led-to-fatal-durham-explosion/18560049|title = Investigation identifies who cut gas line that led to fatal Durham explosion|date = August 9, 2019}}</ref>

==References==