Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Soil shift may have led to condominium blast

Anyone who suspects a gas leak should call Southwest Gas' customer assistance line at (702) 365-1555.

Henderson Fire investigators and Southwest Gas crews uncovered the one-inch-wide pipe fitting Tuesday night under the driveway of the exploded home off High View Drive and Valle Verde Road, Southwest Gas spokesman Roger Buehrer said.

Southwest Gas will not yet be taking the blame for the explosion because the dirt underneath the pipe has been subsiding, which could have caused the pipe fitting to separate from the pipeline, Buehrer said.

"What happens is there's ground or dirt underneath our pipes and, as the ground goes down, there isn't as much support there for the pipes and it puts stress on the pipes," he said.

Pipe fittings are rings used to connect different lengths of pipe.

Buehrer said residents have no way of telling whether or not subsidence around their homes could be causing their natural gas pipelines to crack.

"They really can't prevent it," he said. "But if they smell gas, they've got to call us."

Buehrer said investigators have already checked the grounds surrounding the explosion for subsidence and decided that the remaining homes on Glendevon Circle were not in danger of a similar explosion. He said investigators also discovered that the ground underneath the driveway was saturated with water, which could have caused the settling of the soil.

City of Henderson spokesperson Cynthia Sell said the city does not currently know where the water came from, but said subsidence is "not a problem the city has been aware of."

"Soil tests for new construction are submitted in accordance with industry standards," she said.

Usually, when installing pipes Southwest Gas employees surround them with a special sheeting material that protects the pipes, Buehrer said. But in Tuesday's case, he said the water might have caused such severe subsidence that even the additional protection couldn't hold.

Southwest Gas has leak inspection companies check their pipes every one to three years, he said.

Henderson Fire inspector Don Spellman said the broken pipe fitting did not actually lead into the condominium that exploded, which belonged to Cathy Hanson, a former television reporter and ex-spokeswoman for the City of Las Vegas.

Rather, the natural gas leaked from the loose fitting and traveled between the ground and the concrete driveway into Hanson's garage.

Spellman said that in the 16 and a half years he's investigated fires he had never seen a gas explosion until Tuesday.

"This is not a very common thing," he said. "Southwest Gas is a very reputable company and very conscientious. This is just a fluke thing that happened."

If the investigation reveals that Southwest Gas was responsible for the broken fitting, Buehrer said the company would pay for all damages, including Hanson's condominium and the holes crews drilled into streets.

Damage to the residence was estimated at $350,000.

Buehrer said the explosion could have been prevented if Hanson or any of her neighbors, who reported that they smelled gas hours before the explosion, had called the company.

Instead, when Hanson smelled gas the night before the explosion, she only checked her gas-powered appliances and went to bed, he said.

The next morning, Hanson's garage exploded and the entire front side of her house collapsed. Henderson Fire Battalion Chief Gene Bellin said it took about 30 minutes for 24 firefighters to put out the flames that ensued.

Buehrer advises anyone who suspects a gas leak to call Southwest Gas' customer assistance line at (702) 365-1555.

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