Huge explosion in Indianapolis destroys 2 homes, damages dozens more

[dpb]

On 11/14/2012 3:47 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote: ...

...

Well, it was a logical question to ask and it was the response.

It still seems perfectly clear to me on both fronts.

One clearly would wonder if there were evidence of a leak--so the company rep was asked. At the time, the answer was "no".

If the account isn't published at all you're left wondering when reading the news account "well, why didn't they ask about gas leaks"? The answer is they did--that there's just nothing particular to report at the moment is also worth reporting.

One can only a) report what is know at the time it is known and then b) take the content of a statement at what it says and no more.

That it reports no knowledge at a point in time is still some knowledge of what is and isn't known.

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[Vic Smith]

You misread the meaning. Though I haven't paid attention to this incident, when I hear a utility say something like this, my assumption is it only applies to their mains and service feeds. IOW, they were able to shut off the entry feeds, tested for leaks in main and service feeds, and found none. Sort of saying, "Relax. The sewers aren't about to explode, and the local area isn't about to become a raging inferno." That's my read, anyway.

[dpb]

On 11/14/2012 4:29 PM, Vic Smith wrote: ...

+1 Should've probably expounded on that point of reference earlier--they can't possibly have done forensic-type investigation on the house in question at the moment...

A situation such as that where can isolate any source as compared to one out this way where a large salt-cavern storage field leaked from some injection/retrieval well sites unknownst to operators (for apparently years). The escaping gas as well as some apparently just lost in the air migrated along the paths of various pipelines owing to less dense ground packing around the trenches and air gaps from settling and eventually there was a big boom in downtown Hutchinson, KS, as several others including in a mobile home park as well. No way to stop that supply until it burned out--they actually drilled and lit several release/flare wells to hasten the process...

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[Wes Groleau]

It prevented having two blank lines at the bottom of the column.

[Robert Green]

Then I would have expected them to say "we found no leaks in the mains" which is a different animal than saying "we found no leaks." In any event, it seems premature to exclude the possibility of a leak but completely within modern legal thinking to disclaim responsibility early and often. (-"

-- Bobby G.

[Robert Green]

That certainly makes sense, with most homeowners being well-equipped to deal with gas-related issues. NOT.

A few years ago, security cameras captured a live gas explosion at a nearby shopping center. The explosion here was consistent with the enormous amount of damage that explosion caused. Oddly enough, the intensity (at least compared to TNT) was low enough to cause massive property damage but not any serious injury to people.

-- Bobby G.

[Kurt Ullman]

They said exactly that in the local paper. That explains the difference.

[Wes Groleau]

In most places I've lived, if you call and say you smell gas, someone will be there fast.

[Robert Green]

some gas supply lines got ripped loose in the blast. Whether the house blew up from a gas leak or a pile of TNT, there *WILL* be a gas leak now.

A lot of the gas delivery infrastructure is getting very old. Shortcuts that may have been taken during the original installation of the pipe are now beginning to result in failures, some pretty horrific.

Lots of people don't know they are living very close to 30" high pressure gas mains that may be over 50 years old.

-- Bobby G.