Explosion destroys one home, damages two others

[Pinkgirl36]

Explosion destroys one home, damages two others (http://www.dailynews.com/socalincludes/pmupdates/articles/0802/13/PM01.asp)

Explosion destroys one home, damages two others


TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) … At least one home was leveled and two others badly damaged by an explosion early Tuesday, littering a neighborhood with debris and sending a concussion through the community, authorities said.
Ten people were being treated for minor injuries, authorities said.

``We're just hoping there are not any fatalities,'' said police Sgt. Brad Wilson.

Several other homes appeared to have been damaged. Early television reports said the destroyed home was tented for termite fumigation.

Police said at least one home was flattened about 5:45 a.m. and two others seriously damaged, Wilson said. White smoke billowed into the sky and a 20-foot flame roared where the demolished home once stood.

``There was one house, the one that was tented and vacant, that house is completely leveled,'' said There are two other houses that have severe structural damage and there are obviously other houses in the area that have damage as well.''

There was little left of the obliterated home, which was nothing more than a 2-foot-high pile of debris. Bits and pieces of debris were scattered for a half-block with debris spread onto neighbors' roofs and in their yards.

The neighborhood was being evacuated early Tuesday as fire investigators surveyed the scene.

Resident Aaron Jacobs, who lives in the gated community adjacent to the shredded home: ``We were practically blown out of our beds.''

``The whole house felt like it jumped off the foundation. The first that happened was there was a huge plume of black smoke,'' Jacobs told KTLA-TV.

Tom Maher lives about a block away from the cul-de-sac where the explosion occurred.

``There was a tremendous bang and shaking of the neighborhood,'' Maher told KABC-TV. ``I saw flames shooting up into the sky.''

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ok i like felt this...i thought it was an earthquake cuz the walls shook and stuff....and i just grabbed dopeys arm and hid under my blankey...

[DoPeY5007]

ok, this sounded like a Sonic Boom to me, and I am prolly almost 10 miles away!.




A guy I work with lives two blocks from this ( he lives in Redondo ) and he said he never woke up so fast before :eek:

[Kevster]

I live about a mile from where this happened, and I was unloading my dryer at the time and it scared the holy hell out of me! :eek:

I started looking all over the house trying to see what happened and then I heard the fire engines rolling from a couple streets over... creepy! :eek:

[DoPeY5007]

these are the only pics I can find so far


http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2002/US/08/13/house.explosion/story.house.explosion.jpg


http://www.dailynews.com/socalincludes/pmupdates/articles/0802/13/fire.jpg

[DoPeY5007]

http://a1022.g.akamai.net/f/1022/6000/10m/www.latimes.com/media/photo/2002-08/4202518.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2002-08/4202272.jpg

[DoPeY5007]

Check out the slide show in the center of the page!



http://www.nbc4.tv/news/1609520/detail.html

[Kim]

Sheesh, I guess they got rid of the termites!

[ribitch]

wow, that was one hell of a blast. i remember a few years back when a mushroom farm blew up. The building was this old run down buiding. Urban sprawl didnt force the place to close down which waspretty amazing for the area.

anyways, the gases emitted from growing mushrooms caught on fire and blew the roof off the place. It was a pretty decent bang, but probably nothing like that house made!!!

[DoPeY5007]

I read in yesterdays paper, that this damaged @ lease 115 houses :eek:



they guy I work with said that there were trucks with new glass and boards to board up windows when he went home

[Jenny]

Originally posted by Kim
Sheesh, I guess they got rid of the termites!

:stupid:

My thought was (before I read yours): Geez, I guess termites aren't the biggest problem there now, are they??

[Kevster]

Originally posted by Kim
Sheesh, I guess they got rid of the termites!

What sucks is that they were very likely about to sell their home. In California, you must fumigate your home for termites (and supply a copy of the inspection certificate) before a real estate transaction can occur. People typically do this before they start the selling process. I live about a mile from where this happened and I can tell you that subterranaan termites are very common in the Beach Cities because of the sandy soil. You usually have to get an inspection usually once a year to keep them under control.

[Apex]

We live in the next city over and our house shook. Pretty crazy.

[DoPeY5007]

Originally posted by Kevster


What sucks is that they were very likely about to sell their home. In California, you must fumigate your home for termites (and supply a copy of the inspection certificate) before a real estate transaction can occur. People typically do this before they start the selling process. I live about a mile from where this happened and I can tell you that subterranaan termites are very common in the Beach Cities because of the sandy soil. You usually have to get an inspection usually once a year to keep them under control. from what I read is the the house was empty, so this may very much be true

[seqiro]

Looks like my side of the country had a similar occurrence recently :(

Natural Gas Focus Of Inquiry In Fatal Explosion At Condos (http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-explosion0815.artaug15.story?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Dlocal)


WEST HAVEN -- Fire officials said Wednesday that natural gas was the focus of their investigation of the explosion that killed two people and leveled three units of a condominium complex early Tuesday.

West Haven Fire Chief William Johnson said investigators were still looking at all possible causes, but that a gas explosion was "the prime suspect" in the 3:30 a.m. blast at Orchard Hill condominiums.

The explosion probably occurred in Unit 7 of the complex, Johnson said. That condominium was the home of Conrad Palmer, 70, who died shortly after the explosion.

Where the gas came from and why it ignited are still unknown, Johnson said.

Johnson said fire and building officials were trying to get occupants of 18 of the complex's 46 units back into their homes Wednesday. At the latest, they should return today, he said.

Occupants of the remaining units, he said, won't be returning for a while. Some of the nine buildings in the complex may have to be demolished, he said. The three units destroyed in the blast have sold for between $50,000 and $99,000 in recent years.

Beryl Lyons, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Utility Control, said officials in her office are looking at records to determine whether there was any work done in the area that might have disrupted a gas line or caused the explosion in any other way. Initial inquiries have produced no records of any recent projects in the area, she said.

She added that a full investigation by her department won't be possible until fire and police officials allow state public utility officials to inspect the site.

Officials at Southern Connecticut Gas Co., which provides fuel for the complex, did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Myriam Clarkson of Renaissance Collaborative Inc. of New Haven, the property manager for the condominium complex, said Wednesday that she did not know of any complaints of gas odors or any other problems that could have foreshadowed the blast.

Viviana Tindell, 47, was also killed in the blast and her husband, Foster, was injured. He was released Wednesday from Yale-New Haven Hospital. The Tindells lived in Unit 6, next to the unit where investigators are searching for the source of the explosion.

David and Deborah Papin lived in Unit 8, which was also destroyed. They and their two young children managed to escape uninjured.

More than 70 complex residents were taken to Carrigan Middle School, where they were cared for by Red Cross volunteers. Cots were set up but only two people stayed overnight at the school. The rest stayed with friends, family, or at hotels. Some came back to the school Wednesday for food, counseling or help with their insurance needs.

Lin Stuhlman, mass care coordinator for the Red Cross, said the Red Cross will be closing up at the school today at 2 p.m.

Visit ctnow.com for a gallery of photos from the explosion scene, a clickable photo with enlarged detail and video.

[DoPeY5007]

Originally posted by seqiro
Looks like my side of the country had a similar occurrence recently :(

Natural Gas Focus Of Inquiry In Fatal Explosion At Condos (http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-explosion0815.artaug15.story?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Dlocal)
ooooch....



it is a lil dif. but still sucks :(





I also heard that the company that tented this house was already working on a suspended license