U.S. News
NTSB Probes Why San Antonio Block Was Not Evacuated
Clear Facts
- Two homes in a San Antonio neighborhood exploded hours apart on Tuesday evening.
- Five people were injured in the blasts, including a high school teacher and her child.
- Federal investigators are now probing why the area was not evacuated after the first explosion occurred.
A neighborhood in San Antonio was devastated Tuesday after two separate natural gas explosions leveled homes and critically injured residents. The first blast occurred around 6 p.m., followed by a second eruption two doors down just two hours later.
San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto described the force of the second blast as catastrophic to the structure.
“The roof blew, there was sheet rock and insulation across the street,” Frausto said.
Among the injured are Kim Nowell, a local math teacher, and her daughter. Neighborhood residents reported that they had no warning of a secondary danger and did not smell gas after the initial incident.
“Those people had been outside with us, watching what was going on, and they went back inside the house and…then their house went up,” neighbor John Young said. “I mean, it went in flames.”
The NTSB is launching an investigation into the natural gas-fueled explosions. Questions remain regarding the decision-making process of emergency officials who failed to clear the block before the second house ignited.
Fire officials defended their response by noting the difficulty of detecting leaks under certain environmental conditions.
“We don’t know when these things happen, when there’s a gas leak, very hard to detect, and especially under these conditions, there’s sometimes no odor,” Frausto said.
Utility crews eventually cut power and gas to the vicinity while ten homes were evacuated to prevent further casualties. Three victims remain in critical condition as the community awaits a preliminary federal report expected within a month.
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