The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday afternoon that the testing of pipeline infrastructure around a home in Centreville, Virginia, that exploded Sunday will likely last through the rest of the week.
Dozens of reports of a smell of gas in the air around a home in the 14000 block of Quail Pond Court came in on Sunday before the home ultimately exploded that evening. One occupant of the home escaped through a window and was caught by a neighbor; both sustained minor injuries and were released from the hospital after treatment.
Officials discovered a natural gas leak near the home and transitioned into a hazmat response, evacuating about 46 homes.
Assistant Chief of Operations for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Eric Craven said Wednesday that there was a “loss of pressure” in a section of pipe where investigators are looking for the site of the gas leak.
“The line along Belle Plains Drive is a distribution line, maintained and operated by Washington Gas. The distribution lines on the easement, on the other side of the house that exploded, are transmission lines owned, maintained by Williams Pipeline,” Craven said.
Craven said where the pipe had a loss of pressure when tested with air is the source of “a leak,” but it is still unclear if it is the leak that caused the explosion.
“We want to make sure that the area is extensively investigated to make sure that any leaks are found and addressed. But yes, there is a loss of pressure when tested with air, which means when it had natural gas in it, there was most likely a leak of natural gas from that pipeline,” he said.
“Washington Gas will continue to find and repair any leaks associated with the loss in pressure on that line on Belle Plains Drive. It’s estimated that this could take 48 hours or longer,” Craven added.
Pat Warren, director of the NTSB’s Office of Rail, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations, said the federal agency is working with local agencies in its investigation “to determine the probable cause of accidents, issue safety recommendations and prevent future events like this from ever happening again.”
A final report including the NTSB’s probable cause findings and safety recommendations will be released in 12 to 24 months, Warren said.
Footage released Wednesday by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue showed firefighters responding to the explosion and working to put out the flames.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is releasing operational footage from the Quail Pond gas explosion. Crews arrived to heavy damage and fire, initiated attack, searched for occupants, secured utilities, and established unified command. NTSB is the lead investigation agency. pic.twitter.com/T3JcRxXKPT — Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 18, 2026
A timeline for displaced residents
When first responders arrived to the site of the explosion, they found four other nearby homes with gas levels reaching the potential to cause something similar, officials said. Firefighters continue to go door-to-door to monitor gas levels at houses situated along the pipeline.
Those gas levels, they said, are decreasing and a few families were allowed back into their homes Tuesday night.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for 35 homes Wednesday near the site of the explosion, as crews tried to pinpoint the location of the gas leak that may have caused the blast.
Craven said once it is determined that the distribution lines are intact and the leaks are found and repaired, residents that were displaced from the neighborhood will be able to go back to their homes.
“The timeline is 100% dependent on two things. One, that all the leaks are found and repaired. And two, that the Fairfax County Fire Rescue Department is able to go into those occupancies, clear all floors of the living area to ensure they have normal atmospheric readings and to maintain that before we put people back in that situation,” Craven said.
Craven pointed to a map that showed homes near the site of the explosion that no longer have gas service or were evacuated. Eleven homes that were “quite a distance away from the impacted area” were deemed safe to reoccupy on Tuesday night, he said.
“Best-case scenario, the majority of the homes being allowed to be reoccupied no sooner than 48 hours from now, depending upon the status of the leak that Washington Gas finds, and what those conditions are,” Craven said.
Though a representative was not present at Wednesday’s news briefing, Washington Gas said in a release on Tuesday that it is “actively supporting the response” to the Centreville neighborhood and is offering hotel accommodations to displaced residents.
Anyone with video, surveillance footage or information is asked to email witness@ntsb.gov.
WTOP’s Dan Ronan in Centreville contributed to this report.
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