Across a shared alley from where 12 year old Linda "Michellita" Rogers was killed, Jonathan Gonzalez and their family stand in front of their home, destroyed in a natural-gas related explosion two days before Rogers was killed.
“I really do think that could have been avoided,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez’ dad suffered second degree burns to his face after waking up around 5 a.m. last Wednesday and noticing the house was cold. Gonzalez said his dad tried to turn up the heat, but heard what sounded like the furnace attempting to start.
“He got to open the attic, at that point he stuck his head in and that’s when the explosion went on,” said Gonzalez. “It was like a grenade. An explosion like that.”
Five other family members were asleep in the home. Gonzalez says his brother suffered more minor burns, his sisters had cuts and his mother sustained bruises.
He says his family had called Atmos twice to report the smell of natural gas earlier this month. Atmos, he says, sent someone out to repair a meter outside. The second time, he says the family was told there was “nothing to worry about.”
After the Gonzalez home exploded last Wednesday, Dallas Fire Rescue was called to another natural gas-related fire three doors down on Thursday morning. Another man was burned in the kitchen. A relative who stopped by the burned out home on Monday said the man suffered second degree burns as well.
Both homes in the 3500 block of Durango Drive share an alley with a home that exploded Friday morning in the 3500 block of Espanola Drive.
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The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team into the neighborhood to investigate the blasts on Sunday. Monday, investigators were on scene. The NTSB says it is not responsible for assigning blame, but would try to determine the cause and make safety recommendations within six months to a year.
“The amount of devastation that’s done to this house clearly indicates it was not just a small amount of fuel, but having three incidents in such close proximity makes it more likely than not that they’re all related,” said former transportation official Brigham McCown who previously served as the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
McCown is not directly involved in the current investigation, but says he expects investigators are looking at everything from the pipelines, meters and appliances to the human factor of the response.
“That includes both the safety management plan, the hazard communication, the way people were warned or not warned,” said McCown. “It all ties back to preventability.”
Atmos did not respond to NBC 5’s request for more information about the prior blasts on Durango Drive and Atmos’ response to neighbors who say they tried to get help before the explosions.
“I just feel like they’re not taking this in serious hands,” said Gonzalez. “For someone to die in a bigger explosion knowing it was this street that they saw the second house exploded. I just feel like they weren’t too serious about it still by the second time.”
UPDATE:
In a press conference Monday night, Atmos Energy Spokesperson Jennifer Altieri said she could not comment on any calls reporting a gas smell before the explosions. She said that was part of the ongoing NTSB investigation.
The energy company has 40 crews working to restore gas service in the neighborhoods and replace two and a half miles of pipe as an extra precaution.
"Really going above and beyond in knowing that our system is safe and that everybody feels safe going back into their homes," Altieri said. "We've heard the community, we understand and we're not going to let you back in until it's 100% safe. So we're just taking some added precautions there."
As of Monday evening, service was restored in the even-numbered homes in the 3600 block of Gaspar and odd-numbered homes in the 3600 block of Fontana.
The energy company is going door-to-door, checking every appliance before restoring service and someone over the age of 18 has to be home for them to turn service back on.
They expect the full process to take seven to ten days but note there could be delays with rain expected over the next few days.
Atmos is putting evacuees up in hotels and offering school bus rides for any children in those hotels. They're asking parents to call to tell them where they're staying and which schools they need to get to.
Atmos Energy has a dedicated hotline set up for this incident. That number is: 972-964-4191.
NBC5's Alice Barr contributed to this report.
