Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 200202240 - Employee killed in natural gas explosion

Accident Summary Nr: 200202240 -- Report ID: 0418200 -- Event Date: 05/04/2004
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
307345413	05/05/2004	1711	238220	Powers Heating And Cooling

Abstract: On May 4, 2004, Employee #1, a service technician for a natural gas company, went to a house to replace a gas valve on a floor furnace. A gas leak had occurred two days before, and the fire department had turned off the gas and cleared away the gas vapors. Employee #1 went into a crawl space under the house with the replacement valve, his cell phone, metal tools, and a flash light. He was talking to the company's service manager on his phone when an explosion occurred, killing Employee #1 as well as an elderly woman in the house. An elderly man, who also lived in the house and had Alzheimer's disease, apparently turned the gas back on before Employee #1 arrived and entered the crawl space. The accumulated gas vapors caused the explosion. The man was knocked off of the house's front porch, but he was not injured.

Keywords: FURNACE, LEAK, REPAIR, VAPOR, FLAMMABLE VAPORS, CONSTRUCTION, NATURAL GAS, EXPLOSION, CHEMICAL VAPOR

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Single family or duplex dwelling		Maintenance or repair		Under $50,000	1	12	X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	307345413			Fatality	Burn/Scald(Heat)	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Temporary work (buildings, facilities) Fatality Cause: Fire/explosion

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