threeplusfire: (black forest)
[personal profile] threeplusfire
Yesterday, a house exploded.

The explosion demolished the house and shifted a neighbor's house right off the foundation. People felt it down the block. It caused an enormous fire, and I suppose we must be thankful it was damp and cool when this happened or I hate to think of how the fire might have spread. The man in the house died, and a neighbor was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.

Over the summer, the drought dried out the ground. It shrank. Numerous water pipes all around the city broke as a result. It is not unthinkable to imagine a gas pipe could break in the same way. This fear has been in the back of my mind for months. I can't help but wonder if that played a part in the gas leak here. The issue of how shitty the gas companies are about delaying repairs is a whole other thing. Letting an unidentified, noticeable gas leak go on for a month is completely nuts and clearly, devastating. There was a story in the paper some months ago about this same gas company failing to fix a major gas leak in a neighborhood for months. I don't even understand how you could make a decision to let something like that go on, given the risks.

Date: 2012-01-11 05:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] silvanis.livejournal.com
I don't understand why TGS didn't shut off the gas to the house. If you can tell from smell alone that there's a leak, that's serious enough to just shut the damn thing off until it's fixed, right? They already dug up his yard, put in a shut off valve if there isn't one nearby!

Can we stuff the higher ups in TGS into a house full of gas appliances and leaky pikes and let them experience first hand their repair service?

Date: 2012-01-11 02:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tsarina.livejournal.com
I'm also really puzzled by this. The only possible reason I can think is that they needed it to be actively leaking to find the leak... but then why not shut it off when the work crew went away? It seems so dangerous.

I'm reasonably certain there is a shutoff at street level at my house.

Date: 2012-01-11 09:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] in-thy-bounty.livejournal.com
I'm quite glad gas never made it to our village, I just don't trust it.

Date: 2012-01-11 02:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tsarina.livejournal.com
Cooking on a gas stove is a joy, but I have to admit it does make me nervous sometimes.

Date: 2012-01-11 04:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] redstapler.livejournal.com
I'm curious where in "Central Austin" that was.

The last time I was at Barfly, it *stank* of gas, and I mentioned it to the bouncer. He said that it had been reported.

It was about that same time, too, as that homeowner reported it.

Date: 2012-01-11 04:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tsarina.livejournal.com
Between Burnet and Lamar, south of Anderson. There's a map on the statesman article that shows the location.

Date: 2012-01-11 04:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] redstapler.livejournal.com
Terrifyingly, that's nowhere near Barfly.

Yikes.

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