Gas leak first reported in November

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A natural gas odor at the house leveled by Monday's deadly explosion was first reported to Texas Gas Service on Nov. 25, the company said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

The company it visited the house that day and scheduled a repair. The repair effort had begun and was under way when the explosion that left one dead occurred.

The investigation continues Tuesday morning into why a gas leak caused a home to explode in Central Austin, killing one person.

"We remain focused on investigating the incident and cooperating with the authorities, while ensuring the safety and well-being of the community and our customers," Texas Gas Service said in a statement..

The explosion flattened the home at 1712 Payne Ave., where crews later worked to shut off a gas leak. At least one other person was injured.

A person from the house next door was taken to the hospital with burns to his airway.

• Listen to one of the 911 calls about the explosion.

Witnesses said that the impact from the explosion could be felt as far away as a quarter-mile. The windows of the house next door were all blown out.

Texas Gas Service crews were able to dig a hole down the street from the home to shut off the gas.

Gas crews said they believe the leak was contained to only the house that exploded and that other homes were not in danger of exploding.

Several residents said there had been a smell of gas out there for weeks, but fire officials said they never received a call about a gas leak.

"It was obvious there was a significant gas smell," said nearby resident Shirley Niedzwiecki, who said complaints had been made by many people in the neighborhood, including the man who lived at the destroyed home.

"That is part of the reason there was a big hole in front of his house," said Niedzwiecki. "Because they were trying to find the leak."

Neighbors also received flyers from a contractor stating that holes may be dug on their properties as workers tried to find the leak.

Texas Gas Service crews are working to restore service to as many customers as possible after some were left without it. Those customers received temporary hotel accommodations.

Ramona Nye of the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the natural gas industry, said the agency was notified by the gas company about the incident.

A final report on the commission’s investigation should be available within 90 days, Nye said.

The Texas Gas Service said it is reviewing what work had been done in the area.

The explosion caused $270,000 in damage, including $20,000 to a vehicle. The house at 1710 Payne St. sustained $50,000 in structural damage.

Kristi Copeland, known as the Fix it Chick, came to the home Monday to return the homeowner's key and take pictures of renovations she helped him with up until last Friday.

That's when she learned the home was destroyed in a fiery natural gas explosion--and one person inside was dead. She believes it was the man who hired her, the one who was renovating the home to rent out so he could return to Houston to be with his son.

"At first I was in disbelief and then very obviously sad for him, but I'm angry this was so senseless. He died completely needlessly. He was a wonderful man," said Copeland.

Copeland says she first met the homeowner in late October and says he told her then he'd been smelling gas for a couple weeks. Copeland said the homeowner reported the gas leak the day after Thanksgiving.

She said crews came out to try to fix it on Dec. 29.

"I show up and there's this crew working and this big hole in the ground and immediately I said, 'What are you guys doing?' and they said, 'Oh, there was a gas leak,' and I said, 'Oh, finally you're coming out to do this.' After several hours of working they came up to me and said they couldn't find the leak -- it was under the driveway and they would have to come up the following week, which was last week, and I was there every single day last week -- nobody showed up," said Copeland.

Copeland is sad to hear what happened, but also fortunate that she and her workers finished up and got out last Friday.

"It was a ticking time bomb," said Copeland.

Tuesday firefighters continued to sift through ashes, Texas Gas Service workers took photos of a piece of gas line.  Could this be the source of the leak?  What exactly caused it?   And could it have been prevented?
Questions Copeland hopes someone answers soon.

"He reported it other than that what can you do. It's the gas company's responsibility to take care of it, and I hope this never happens again. I hope no other eight year old boys are left fatherless because the gas company puts it off for a week or two or month. It's just incomprehensible," said Copeland.