Investigators: Victims of townhome explosion were stealing gas
12:40 PM CST on Monday, November 8, 2004
Associated Press
HOUSTON -- Investigators say a townhome explosion that injured three residents and a firefighter early Monday was the result of natural gas theft.
KHOU
The townhouse was gutted by the fire.
Neighbors told law officers they heard a loud explosion about 4:30 a.m. at the two-story home in southeast Houston.
"It was a loud boom," said one neighbor. "And then we saw the fire from upstairs."
"The roof popped off, the whole roof popped off of the house," said another neighbor.
One resident was seriously burned, said firefighters. Two others were taken to hospitals for treatment of smoke inhalation.
"We came outside and these people... they were all burnt," said the neighbor. "They came over to use the phone and called 911."
The injured firefighter suffered less serious burns, according to the Houston Chronicle's online edition.
KHOU
Three residents and a firefighter were injured.
The home was gutted by the fire.
The flames also spread to the neighbors' townhome where Jessica Medina and her family lost nearly everything, including precious photos.
CenterPoint officials say the family in the home that exploded didn't have a natural gas account set up. They say they had stolen a gas meter from an empty unit across the street.
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Don't take life seriously... Its not permanent.
I was more fortunate when a home was being built next to me, can you believe the gas company installed a meter and turned it on leaving it when the gas plumbing wasn't even installed yet?
The next morning the entire neighborhood had a terrible gas odor, we were informed not to light anything and clear the neighborhood. They simply closed the gas valve off and let the wind do the rest, was only about an hour of inconvenience with a bit of concern.
It seems ironic to me that the gas company would pull a meter, it has a valve that can be turned off and locked, least ours do and before the meter, but even at that, a short length of pipe would serve quite well. Just sounds like a crazy stunt to pull, will there be severe criminal charges against these people?
SouthEast Houston huh?......I wonder how many folks in that part of town even speak english? Houston is a large spread out city, and the SE is not a great place to be.....it least when I lived in the NorthWest section.
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Lazy bum who lives off his wife.
01 BMW 530i Sport, 92 Porsche 968, 85 F150, 72 911, 08 GM SUV, 01' Ford Lightnin'
Yes MrBillPro, I know that part of town well. I lived for 10yrs. 1 block off Antoine, on Kaltenbrun, south of Bonnie Campbell, inside the Beltway 8. When I moved there it was like bieng in the country, then 2acre lot by lot, Vietnamese pepper farmers moved in and it started gettin crowded. When I was working, I drove a service truck all over Houston for 17 years mostly to Hospitals and Grocery stores. Houston has so many different looks and people, it's astounding, like NYC. I did get tired of all the BigCity BS, Taxes, Aldine ISD, HEAT, and moved to a quiet little town of Foley, Al., just 8K rednecks mostly, mixed in with a load of snowbirds and retired people. 10 minutes from Gulf Shores where I used to vacation when I did leave Houston for a week every year. I did sit out Ivan with a cooler of beer.....wasn't too bad....
I'll never forget seeing 18 wheelers under water on I-10.....it does flood in Houston.....
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Lazy bum who lives off his wife.
01 BMW 530i Sport, 92 Porsche 968, 85 F150, 72 911, 08 GM SUV, 01' Ford Lightnin'
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