A day after an explosion rocked downtown Fort Worth, the race was on to determine the cause. But Tuesday afternoon, 24 hours after the blast, officials said the cause was inconclusive.
“Obviously, there was gas, natural gas involved. We do not know if gas caused the explosion or if the explosion caused the gas problem,” said Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis.
At Goodson Engineering, Mark Goodson studies catastrophes similar to what happened at the Sandman Hotel Monday afternoon.
“Basically we need to know who was there, what they saw and particularly what they smelled,” said Goodson.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
He said investigators are likely examining every possible gas connection, spraying them with a soap and water mixture to see if bubbles form at a loose joint.
“It can be a big job. Sometimes it’s quite easy. Sometimes the problems are quite obvious and sometimes the material has to be harvested and taken to a laboratory,” he said.
Having worked similar cases, Fort Worth-based attorney John Jose said that after determining the cause, investigators will look to establish fault.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“It could be an appliance, it could be piping, it could be pipes on the Atmos end of the deal, pipes on the owner’s end of the deal. It could be as simple as someone leaving an appliance on and not detecting it to get it shut down in time. There’s a broad range of people who could be at fault,” said Jose.
It’s a process both men said could take weeks, if not months, as the focus downtown turns from ensuring everyone is safe to making sure it doesn’t happen again.
In an update Tuesday evening, the Fort Worth Fire Department said they didn’t receive any calls about people smelling gas before the explosion happened.
Officials and experts emphasized how important it is for citizens to report the smell should they ever encounter it.
