KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Questions and concerns linger in a metro neighborhood after a blast leveled one home and damaged two others. Missouri Gas Energy has completed its part of the investigation into a home explosion in Kansas City.
As of now, it looks like a gas leak was not the cause of the explosion as was previously thought. A spokesperson for MGE is stopping short of saying it was not a gas leak that caused this explosion, but did tell FOX 4 that crews checked the lines that lead from the street into the house. They found no leak and no malfunctioning equipment.
On Thursday people in South KC neighborhood still say they smelled natural gas, and are wondering if that didn’t cause the house to explode, what did?
Idell McGuire, who lives down the street from where the explosion happened, said she called the gas company and someone from MGE came out to check her house and the two on either side.
“The man said there was no gas leaks, it was pressure build-up, but we’ve been smelling gas for over a week,” she said.
Several hours later the strong explosion demolished a home and damaged two others.
7:06 “We just heard a big boom. It knocked me out of my chair,” she said.
Nancy Kastle lives caddy-cornered to the home. She said her son filled a spaghetti pot full of water and used a fire extinguisher to try and put the fire out.
“By then, the whole house was totally engulfed, I’ve never seen anything like it, it went up like a stick match,” she said.
Thirty-nine-year-old Jenetta Burris was sleeping in her bedroom, on the other side of the home. Her sister says the explosion knocked Burris out of bed, and she is in the hospital with injuries to her head, neck and leg. Not only did the blast causing damage to the house next door, but others.
David Dougherty, who owns the rental home where the explosion happened, told FOX 4 the house has been vacant for about a month, and was in the process of being cleaned up for a new tenant. MGE says it came out several times Wednesday and checked the air, soil and sewers. All of the tests came back negative for natural gas. The Kansas City Bomb and Arson Squad is continuing the investigation into the explosion.
MGE provided FOX 4 with this statement:
At MGE we are committed to ensuring the safety of our customers and the communities we serve. Last night, Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) immediately responded to a call from the Kansas City Fire Department of a home explosion at 8:11P.M. As a utility, MGE routinely responds to calls involving fire so we can safely turn off our services to the home and assist the fire department if needed.
When MGE crews arrived, the Kansas City Fire Department had already shut off gas to the house. Crews from MGE checked a six-house radius of neighboring homes for any signs of natural gas leaks. We found no natural gas leaks in any home.
Throughout the day yesterday, MGE received four calls of natural gas odor in the Ruskin Heights neighborhood. Two of these calls were from the same person at the same location. We were never called about a gas odor at the home in question. Each time, MGE responded immediately and thoroughly checked the area. Our crews use specialized equipment that can detect natural gas in the air, the soil and the sewer. Each time we got a zero reading for natural gas.
Tests performed on the natural gas pipeline leading to this house show no leaks. Early indications show that this explosion does not appear to be related to the malfunction of any MGE equipment. The investigation is being led by the Kansas City Bomb and Arson squad.
