Maryland gas explosion victims remembered, investigation into cause underway
BALTIMORE -- National Transportation Safety Board investigators were back at the scene of a deadly house explosion in Bel Air South Tuesday as they work to complete an independent investigation into the cause.
The blast on Sunday leveled one home -- killing a BGE contractor and the homeowner -- and caused structural damage to several nearby houses.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren spoke one-on-one with Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly at the scene Tuesday who said they are providing shelter for seven families and working with the Red Cross.
"You look at some of the homes and you think surely, they can go back in," Cassilly said. "Unfortunately, the force of the explosion just cracked and warped structural members and homes that seem to be OK are uninhabitable, so we have a lot of people whose lives have just been turned upside down."
Security prohibited media from accessing the site where clean-up work remained underway.
Video of the explosion
You can hear the explosion in the video WJZ obtained. It shook the Ring camera that captured it on a townhome near the scene.
The video showed debris that blasted above the rooftops.
Another video showed fences shaking in a backyard.
Drone video captured the aftermath, with much of the insulation and pieces of exploded home cleaned up by Tuesday morning.
Fire investigators said they believe the cause is accidental and there was an outside gas leak at the home that is the epicenter of the explosion.
Remembering the victims
The tragedy killed 73-year-old homeowner Ray Corkran Jr., who had just placed the home for sale.
"By all accounts, the homeowner was a great guy," Cassilly said. "Neighbors knew him—a really nice man. It's not just the building that's gone. It's lives. It's people. It's families."
BGE contractor Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado, 35, also lost his life. Several people posted about their heartbreak on Facebook.
The victim's brother is raising money in an online fundraiser to send Rodriguez-Alvarado's body to his native El Salvador.
"His mom and sister came by that morning, and to see the family, it really hit home. It was not just a utility worker. It was a family guy," Cassilly said.
Community impact
Many in the community are staying in hotels and have questions about what led to the explosion.
"I've been in touch with the homeowners association president just to let them know what kind of support we're providing," Cassilly said.
Cassilly noted the county provided clean-up crews and structural expertise.
The NTSB told WJZ Tuesday they are still collecting "perishable evidence" at the scene.
The state fire marshal's office has completed the on-scene portion of its investigation.
"Right now, our investigators are going to be looking at information regarding the piping, the electrical work, any type of video surveillance they may have recovered," said Oliver Alkire, from the Maryland Fire Marshal's Office.
Past gas explosions in Maryland
This, unfortunately, is one of almost a dozen gas-related explosions in Maryland in the past decade.
They include a deadly blast in East Baltimore in 2014, an apartment explosion that injured firefighters in Northeast Baltimore in 2018, a blast that destroyed a retail and office complex in Columbia, Howard County in 2019, and a deadly gas explosion leveled three rowhomes in Northwest Baltimore in 2020.
As part of a past WJZ investigation, BGE told us they respond to 30,000 gas odor calls every year and typically within one hour
Bel Air investigation
Part of the current investigation in Bel Air will look at all calls for service.
Several neighbors said they reported a gas odor hours before the explosion. Fire investigators say BGE contractors were at the home that was leveled to investigate an electrical issue.
"Is there an isolated incident where we can figure it out, or do we have to look at other areas? As bad as everyone else, we want to know what they're uncovering," Cassilly told Hellgren. "You can see by the number of folks out here, they're serious about this. We've had people out here from day one from NTSB and the state fire marshal and others to stay on the project. They've been documenting everything. They're seriously looking at this."
There is no firm timetable for when this investigation will be complete. The NTSB is involved because they have jurisdiction over gas lines.
