Gas leak threatened other homes near South Jordan home explosion site, NTSB report finds
Nov 20, 2024, 10:15 AM | Updated: 6:45 pm
SOUTH JORDAN — After a natural gas-fueled explosion destroyed a South Jordan home and killed a 15-year-old boy inside it, the National Transportation Safety Board began an investigation.
On Wednesday, the NTSB released new information about what caused this deadly explosion. Neighbors like David Hanson were anxious that their homes would also be in danger.
“We’ve had zero communication from Enbridge, from the city, from the state, from the federal agencies,” Hanson said. “The feeling among all of us here is that we’ve all been at risk.”
The NTSB preliminary report revealed the gas leak was located 150 feet away from the home on 3200 West — in a main owned and operated by Enbridge Gas, formerly Dominion Energy. In total, the leaking gas reached approximately 250 feet away from the leak point, threatening other homes nearby.
An NTSB report revealed the leak was found 150 feet away from the home, and threatened others nearby. (Courtesy South Jordan Police Department/NTSB)
The preliminary report outlined first the timeline of events:
- Nov. 6; 3:09 p.m. — South Jordan home explodes
- Nov. 6; 3:15 p.m. — South Jordan Fire Department arrives
- Nov. 6; 3:45 p.m. — Enbridge Gas arrives to find and isolate the leak
- Nov. 7; 12:16 p.m. — Enbridge isolates leak
The leak point was located northeast of the home, in a 4-inch diameter Aldyl A natural gas main — a polyethylene plastic gas pipeline made by the DuPont chemical company. It is no longer used in new pipelines, NTSB said.
“The Aldyl A main was manufactured and installed in 1976 and operated at a pressure of about 45 psig, below the legal maximum allowable operating pressure of 60 psig,” the report stated.
The subsurface gas was detected by Enbridge crews near the home that exploded and the home immediately north of it — with gas being detected in the front and back yards of both homes. Gas was also detected near the home south of the one that exploded.
The report said none of the five residents nearby reported smelling gas before the explosion, and there was not a natural gas alarm in the home that did explode.
Enbridge Gas crews “removed, retained and repaired the failed main,” NTSB said.
The NTSB said the ongoing investigation will focus future efforts on Enbridge’s “integrity management program, emergency response procedures, public awareness program, and pipeline safety management system, as well as other causal factors.”
Enbridge Gas responded to the report findings with the following statement:
Our company has been a part of the Utah community for over 95 years and public safety is always our top priority. We are deeply saddened by this event and our hearts and prayers go out to the Hansen family for their tragic loss. NTSB has published its preliminary report and while federal regulations prohibit us from commenting on the ongoing investigation, we remain committed to continuing to contribute to the investigation.
This is a breaking news story. It may be updated.
