REPORT: Damaged electric, service lines found after Bel Air home explosion

BEL AIR, Md. ( DC News Now ) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report regarding an explosion that leveled a home and killed two people last month in Bel Air.

The explosion happened just after 6:45 a.m. on Aug. 11, stemming from a single-family home at 2300 Arthurs Woods Drive. The home experienced an electrical power outage the evening before the explosion on Aug. 10.

A Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) representative responded to the home and referred the repair to a contractor, NTSB stated. The responding technician reported smelling gas outside.

Another neighbor also reported smelling a strong gas odor about 0.2 miles from the home to BGE, which responded to the area and did not find a leak. In an interview with NTSB investigators, another BGE worker said he smelled gas in front of the home at about 6:05 a.m.

Two BGE electrical contractors were working to repair the service when the house exploded.

The 73-year-old homeowner, Ray Corkran Jr., and 35-year-old Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado, one of the contractors, died in the blast. The other contractor escaped the explosion with minor injuries.

In its preliminary report, the NTSB wrote:

BGE provided natural gas and electrical service to the affected home, with a natural gas distribution system near the home consisting of a 1-1/4-inch diameter plastic main, installed in 2006, and a 1/2-inch diameter plastic service line, installed in 2007. The operating pressure of the gas system at the time of the explosion was about 89 pounds per square inch gauge (psig), below the maximum allowable operating pressure.

Electrical service to the home was supplied by a set of three electrical cables, installed in a common trench together with the gas pipe.

The NTSB noted that the maximum allowable operating pressure was 99 psig and clarified that a “common trench” is an installation practice where several utilities are installed in a single trench.

BGE recovered damaged electrical service lines and the plastic service line with a hole in the bottom. BGE also tested for and detected subsurface gas in the area surrounding the exploded home.

The NTSB said its investigators at the scene examined the explosion site, reviewed BGE’s operational procedures, gathered documentation, conducted interviews and recovered physical evidence for further investigation.

Investigators examined the remaining gas and electrical facilities at the home after they were evacuated and found the gas and electrical service lines were between 3 and 15 inches apart.

The NTSB’s investigation is ongoing and will focus on BGE’s construction practices, process for recording and responding to odor complaints and its pipeline safety management system.

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