Comment on NYC blast probe highlights problem of stealing gas

NYC blast probe highlights problem of stealing gas

[...] seven months later, authorities suspect another round of gas-pipe tampering caused a fiery explosion at the same building, killing two people, injuring nearly two dozen and leveling three buildings in all. While officials caution that they aren't certain of the cause of last week's blast in New York's East Village, it is highlighting a long-known problem with potentially deadly consequences: untrained schemers rigging up pipes to save money by siphoning natural gas. [...] the data generally include only major incidents and exclude episodes involving small gas pipes that run within buildings or between buildings and their gas meters — lines that generally are the responsibility of property owners, not gas utilities. Unauthorized gas hookups have been blamed or suspected in explosions, fires and deaths, including a 2010 Detroit house fire that killed three children, a 2008 Detroit home explosion that sent five people to hospitals and a 2007 blast in a central California garage. In 1991, three people were killed and 31 injured in two Brooklyn apartment buildings after a thunderous blast from a buildup of natural gas likely caused by an illegally tapped gas line. Utilities can catch bootleg hookups by tracing leaks to their source, conducting routine inspections, and monitoring bills that drop abruptly.

 

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