NTSB sheds light on deadly Bel Air home explosion that killed owner and contractor

BALTIMORE -- The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report addressing the BGE natural gas explosion that destroyed a Bel Air home on August 11.

The explosion killed the owner of the home, a BGE contractor, and injured a second BGE contractor.

What happened

On the evening of August 10 the home at 2300 Arthurs Woods Drive in Bel Air experienced an electrical power outage. 

A neighbor called BGE and reported smelling gas as she went for a walk that evening. Within a half hour, BGE arrived to examine the home. At that time they did not find a leak. However, a responding BGE technician reported the smell of gas to its electric dispatch operator and referred the repair to a contractor.

Shortly after 6:30 a.m. the next morning, the house exploded while two BGE contractors were working to resolve the issue. The homeowner, Ray Corkran Jr., 73, was found dead along with one of the BGE contractors, Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado, 35. The other contractor escaped the explosion with minor injuries. 

A neighbor was also injured and 12 families in the community were displaced.

Nearby homeowners reported broken windows and saw debris from the sky.

The service performed

In an interview with the NTSB, a BGE worker claimed to have smelled gas in front of the home at around 6:05 a.m., Sunday morning.

Workers were providing natural gas and electrical services to the home with a natural gas distribution system nearby.

The system consisted of a 1-1/4-inch diameter plastic main, installed in 2006, and a 1/2-inch diameter plastic service line, installed in 2007, according to the preliminary report. 

The operating pressure of the gas system at the time of the explosion was about 89 pounds per square inch gauge, below the maximum allowable operating pressure. 

Electrical service was supplied from three cables that were buried together with the gas pipe.

Before NTSB investigators arrived at the home, BGE tested the gas line pressure and found damaged electrical service cables and a plastic service line with a hole in the bottom. After the investigators arrived, BGE also detected gas underground around the house.

The NTSB examined the gas and electrical lines that were dug up after the explosion. They found that the gas and electric lines were about 3 to 15 inches apart.

The report did not specify the exact reason for the gas leak or the source of the fire. However, the NTSB stated the investigation is ongoing and will target "BGE's construction practices, the process for recording and responding to odor complaints, and its pipeline safety management system, as well as other casual factors." 

BGE's response

Following the explosion, BGE has performed the following procedures to enhance the safety, reliability, and performance of their system and employees:

• Implemented refresher trainings reemphasizing proactive safety measures and gas and electric emergency processes.
• Reinforced our facility procedures with our craft employees and enhanced our process to ensure employees responding to issues at these locations can maintain the safety of the gas and electric systems.
• Increased oversight of emergency customer calls to the company.