"Before a home near Hayward exploded last month and sent three people to the hospital with serious injuries, Pacific Gas & Electric crews knocked on doors to alert anyone inside the home of a gas leak in the area, but no one responded, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by federal investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board report also found that a PG&E worker turned away firefighters responding to the leak because utility crews believed they did not need assistance."
"The report did not provide a cause for the blast but said an investigation is ongoing. In the wake of the explosion, experts have questioned whether local authorities and PG&E, which has a troubled history of gas-safety incidents, took the appropriate steps to keep residents safe, including telling people to leave the area after the leak was discovered. Multiple people were inside the home and a separate duplex unit at the property when it exploded, according to family members of the victims."
Federal investigators found that PG&E crews knocked on doors to alert residents of a gas leak near Hayward but received no response. Investigators found a PG&E worker turned away firefighters responding to the leak because utility crews believed they did not need assistance. There is no record of an evacuation order after the leak; PG&E and county fire officials say evacuation decisions are made collaboratively on a case-by-case basis. An explosion injured three residents seriously and sent three PG&E workers to hospitals with less serious injuries. PG&E arrived about 7:48 a.m., roughly 20 minutes after notification that a construction crew damaged a gas service line on Dec. 11. An investigation into the cause is ongoing.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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