2019 Durham gas explosion: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:54, 11 April 2020

Revision as of 02:07, 11 April 2020

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===Ongoing Concerns===

As oflate as April 30, 2019, according to the city, there arewere two main concerns: the structural integrity of a wall that was part of the building that housed a collection of classic cars and the presence of [[asbestos]] in some of the debris.<ref>https://www.wral.com/new-concerns-at-site-of-durham-explosion/18357401/</ref>

===Cause===

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 3/4 inch gas line in front of Kaffeinate on the morning of the explosion. <ref> https://www.wral.com/investigation-identifies-who-cut-gas-line-that-led-to-fatal-durham-explosion/18560049/ </ref>

As of May 6, 2019, the cause is still under investigation.<ref>https://abc11.com/crews-begin-digging-up-pipe-from-durham-gas-explosion-/5288103/</ref>

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. <ref> https://www.wral.com/investigation-identifies-who-cut-gas-line-that-led-to-fatal-durham-explosion/18560049/ </ref>

The report was unable to determine what ignited the estimated 46,000 cubic feet of natural gas that leaked out of the ruptured pipe in the roughly 60 minutes from the initial breach to the explosion at 10:06am. <ref> https://www.wral.com/investigation-identifies-who-cut-gas-line-that-led-to-fatal-durham-explosion/18560049/ </ref>

==References==