Probe into natural gas explosion continues

BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE & BRYAN SABELLA
Staff Writers

MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Denise Spiewak recovers a doll from the rubble of her mother’s home at 177 Plainfield Ave., which was leveled in a natural gas explosion in Edison last week. A gas leak was the cause of a natural gas explosion that rocked a Edison neighborhood here and destroyed a two-story home on Plainfield Avenue.

No injuries were reported in the explosion, which ripped through the home at 177 Plainfield Ave. about 3 p.m. on Oct. 12, said Patrolman Robert Dudash.

Houses to the right and left of the house also sustained “severe” damage in the blast, he said.

Mayor George A. Spadoro said at a Thursday press conference that he was anxious for the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to complete its probe to determine if anyone violated the pipeline safety laws.

“This is the third gas pipeline explosion in Edison in the last 10 years,” Spadoro said. “We need to take strong enforcement action to prevent these types of tragedies from happening again. This was a terrible tragedy, but there was only property damage – thank God.”

The BPU is the lead agency investigating the blast, said James Giuliano, a BPU spokesman.

Once the investigation is complete, his department will report to the BPU’s board, Giuliano said.

“We reach a conclusion and issue a report, which could include recommendations,” he said.

The cause of the explosion was a gas leak from a jarred pipe, the mayor said.

“The Fire Department determined that a disruption occurred on Oct. 12 to the gas line leading into the house,” Spadoro said. “The disruption in the pipe led to the release of natural gas, which built up in the house and led to an explosion by an ignition (initially at an undetermined source).”

The leak was likely ignited by the pilot light on the stove at 177 Plainfield Ave., Spadoro said.

Fire Chief Robert Campbell reported to officials that there was nothing to indicate the pipe was ruptured by recent excavation work at the site.

An oil tank on the property had been removed Sept. 22. Aurora Environmental, Union Beach, had been excavating contaminated dirt around where the tank had been. All proper permits were secured for both the tank removal and the soil excavation, officials said.

Aurora could not be reached for comment.

Part of the investigation includes looking into Aurora’s past history for prior violations, Giuliano said.

“So far, there’s none of record, but we’re still looking into it,” he said.

Public Service Electric and Gas and local police and fire agencies are also investigating.

PSE&G spokesperson Jenn Connell said the utility, which handles gas and electricity for the area, came and did a mark-out of underground utilities. Aurora, as required by law, called New Jersey’s One Call hot line before digging.

PSE&G had a technician in the area on another matter when he was approached by a resident who claimed to be smelling gas, she said.

“Because of that, we were on the scene almost immediately,” she said.

PSE&G personnel stayed on the scene into the late evening and returned the following morning to make sure the scene was safe, Connell said.

Aurora could not be reached for comment.

The Dixon family had just moved their mother to Sunrise Assisted Living, East Brunswick, according to son Ronald, of Metuchen. She is 92 years old and suffers from the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

No one was in the house that was under contract for sale, according to Dixon. However, it had not yet been cleared of his mother’s belongings.

Longtime neighbors Joan and John Kobilis, who lived at 175 Plainfield Ave., were relocated to a temporary home by the Red Cross.

Spadoro said he spoke to the couple on the day of the explosion. They just missed being home when the explosion occurred, the mayor said.

“Mr. Kobilis, not long before it happened, left the house to pick up his two grandchildren from school,” Spadoro said. “His wife was out shopping. She usually picks them up. She didn’t that day and he was out of the house when it happened because of that. He was going to bring them back before CCD (catechism) class for something to eat. It never happened and thank God they were all out of the house when the explosion destroyed it.”

The Kobilises could not be reached as of Monday.

In addition to the three homes which sustained the most devastating damage, five others in the area were damaged, but did not need to be evacuated, Spadoro said.

“There was siding that melted from the heat and things like broken windows from the ground shaking and things flying,” Spadoro said.

The tail lights on a car at 179 Plainfield Avenue were melted, but, from the outside, other homes nearby besides the three most affected showed no visible major damage on Thursday and Friday.

Officials called for a thorough investigation and improvements in the state utility companies’ One Call program which mandates that utility lines are marked out sufficiently when work is done on any site.

“The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities did confirm that the mark-out of the mains were done,” Spadoro said, “but they are still investigating whether all gas safety pipeline procedures were followed in terms of marking the line from the utility into the house. Before any excavation is done, the company doing the work must call an 800 number and then the utilities come out and mark the location so the excavator can, in turn, mark the site itself. Aurora says that there was no gas utility marking by the pipe that caused the problem, but the utility believes it was marked completely properly. That is what BPU is trying to sort out.”

Meanwhile people who lunched on Friday at the nearby Plaza Diner said they were upset by the explosion, but felt more sorry for the families affected.

“I just got here from New York,” said Ann Miglione who also said she arrived to visit friends. “I heard about it and I just felt so sorry for the people. But it’s a blessing that no one was hurt.”

“I was at the Pathmark when it happened,” said Ben Sommers, who is a construction worker. “I felt a little tremor, but nothing really crazy. All I could think, though was it was a good thing no one was hurt.”

Plainfield Avenue was closed between Rt. 27 and Jefferson Boulevard from the time emergence personnel responded to about midnight, Dudash said.

Roughly a dozen homes along Plainfield and Hillcrest Avenues were evacuated for a short period. Most residents returned home in the early evening hours, he said.

It was the third natural gas explosion in the township in ten years.

The Durham Woods apartment complex blew up ten years ago. There was a house explosion in 1995 at Park and Stephenville roads.