Investigators are hoping to find the source of a gas leak Tuesday in the Centreville, Virginia, neighborhood where a house exploded Sunday night, injuring two people and sending dozens of families out of their homes.
Officials with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue are still on the scene of the explosion to support the gas companies’ work to find the source of the leak and the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation.
“Our area of concentration is diminishing as they cordon off their lines,” Assistant Chief of Operations for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Eric Craven said of the utility crews.
Neighbors reported smelling gas Sunday night before a house exploded in the 14300 block of Quail Pond Court, off Buggy Whip Drive, at around 9:45 p.m.
Both of the people who were hurt, including one who was inside the house, sustained injuries that are not life-threatening.
Fire officials have been going door-to-door measuring gas levels and roads near the house have been blocked off since the explosion.
“Some homes have slight concentrations. Some have zero concentrations,” Craven said. “We continue to monitor regardless we are seeing that those readings are trending downward, and that downward trend is a result of the fact that we are cording off and sectioning off the gas lines in the area.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, 46 houses were deemed unsafe to be inside by fire officials and 82 houses are without natural gas service.
“We believe we have almost all gas service in the area completely eliminated, so the only residual odor of gas or readings that we’re getting are coming up through the soil that were probably there prior to the incident,” Craven said.
There are at least five gas transmission lines in the area that are operated by Washington Gas. and Williams Pipeline Corporation.
Washington Gas continues to dig at multiple sites nearby, trying to determine which of the five nearby gas transmission lines is behind the leak.
“It’s a process of elimination going through the lines, which are layered crisscross, so you can’t have multiple utilities digging in the same area at the same time,” Craven said.
The gas lines vary in size, with the smallest line about 2 inches in diameter and the largest 42 inches in diameter.
“If it’s one of the smaller lines, 2 inches or 6 inches smaller lines, we’re comfortable with maintaining the safety with the evacuation distance that we have,” Craven said.
But if the leak is coming from one of the larger lines, Craven said more houses could be evacuated.
“Worst-case scenario, that evacuation radius would expand to a quarter mile of where they believe the leak is,” Craven said.
The size of the leaking gas line could play into how much longer evacuated residents need to stay out of their home. Craven estimated the evacuation could last another 24 to 72 hours.
“That allows the utility companies, the two companies involved, to determine which line is potentially leaking, expose it, repair it, test it and then provide service back to the community,” Craven said.
In the meantime, Craven said the fire department is taking requests from residents to escort them in to their homes to pick up items. Fire officials are testing the gases inside the homes to make sure they’re safe to enter.
WTOP saw Fairfax County firefighters knocking on doors of homes on Buggy Whip Drive Tuesday morning.
One neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, said she just got word she had to leave her home.
“We left this morning and came back and found out that we have now have to evacuate,” she said. “We thought we might, but we weren’t positive, because we were on the other side of the road. So we thought we were safe.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the explosion, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue officials said. The NTSB oversees pipeline safety.
NTSB officials didn’t attend the news conference Tuesday but Craven said the agency would be present for a town hall for residents Tuesday night.
In a statement Tuesday evening, NTSB officials said its investigators are working with local partners to begin testing pipeline infrastructure in the area to “identify potential source of the leak.” they will also be conducting interviews with local agencies to “determine probable cause and enhance safety.”
The NTSB will hold join Fairfax Fire and Rescue at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon to provide more information.
About 100 residents showed up for a recent meeting with fire officials and the leadership with the gas companies, Craven said.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein and Luke Lukert contributed to this report.
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