A suspected natural gas home explosion in Carrollton is believed to have been ignited by a cigarette being lit, according to the fire department.
The early-morning blast along Highland Drive off Belt Line Road in Carrollton sent a man to the hospital and led to the temporary evacuation of several homes.
Atmos Energy trucks lined parts of the neighborhood Monday morning as technicians ‘work to restore service,’ according to a statement released by Atmos Energy representatives.
‘A precautionary evacuation has been lifted,’ according to the natural gas distributor.
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Still, neighbors are worried about a lack of communication about what happened and whether there are any ongoing threats in the neighborhood’s gas lines.
“We just don’t know anything. They don’t tell us nothing,” said resident Erika Avalos. “I just hope no explosions happen.”
Carrollton Fire Chief Michael Thompson says while the investigation is ongoing, it appears an underground gas leak seeped into the home’s sewer pipe and began building up in a bathroom.
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“It found a way to get in,” said Thompson while cautioning the investigation is not yet complete. “But, there may have been a crack in the sewer pipe or something that caused the gas to get up into that residence.”
A male resident lit a cigarette at around 3:45 a.m., which ignited the blast.
Firefighters found the victim in the home and rushed him to the hospital and was last listed in stable condition.
While Thompson cannot speak to his injuries, natural gas explosions can cause flash burns to victims.
Incredibly, there were five other people inside the house at the time of the explosion, including teenagers, who were asleep in bedrooms that were not close to the bathroom and were not hurt.
Foul play is not believed to be involved.
According to CFD, no one reported the smell of gas or a gas leak prior to the blast.
Atmos and firefighters evacuated six homes nearby out of an abundance of caution.
Thompson says they deployed natural gas detectors and concluded the issue was isolated to the house and did not involve a larger feeder gas line.
“The neighborhood is safe. It was isolated to one house,” said Thompson. “Thanks to Atmos for such a quick response.”
Atmos did not respond to NBC 5’s questions about what led to the explosion and whether there had been any reports of a possible gas leak prior to the blast but did say:
On Jan. 20, Atmos Energy’s highly trained technicians responded to a call near 1800 Highland Drive in Carrollton at the request of Carrollton Fire Rescue. A precautionary evacuation has been lifted. Atmos Energy technicians remain on the scene as we work to restore service. We would like to thank Carrollton Fire Rescue and all emergency responders for their assistance and coordination.
Atmos also streses: ‘smell gas, act fast!’
While a vital reminder, it is important to know natural gas may not always be accompanied by a distinctive ‘rotten egg’ chemical odor.
That may be why six people in the house did not awaken to the smell of natural gas building inside, said Thompson.
“When it goes through the ground, dirt and it’s filtered, that scene can be removed from it,” he said. “Sometimes you won’t smell it and they were all asleep so we don’t know how long it was leaking, where it was coming up. They were all sleeping at the time.”
Avalos says while her dogs’ barking woke her from her sleep and she saw firefighters on her street, she did not realize what had happened until a co-worker told her.
“The more time that goes by and we see [Atmos] working, it’s starting to worry us a little more,” said Avalos. “Maybe they just don’t want to scare people around here, but it’s important for us to know what’s going on.”
Atmos says you can find more information about natural gas lines here: atmosenergy.com/safety/home-safety/
