3,500 pound natural gas main crashes into Westmoreland County family's home
ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — A Westmoreland County family is waiting to find out if they can return to their home after a 12-inch natural gas main broke loose from its supports and slid 700 feet into their house.
Anthony Ford walked into his Allegheny Township home a few days ago and immediately knew there was something wrong.
"I smelled gas," Ford said.
Moments later, Ford found where it was coming from.
"I went into the basement to check everything out, and there was a huge, giant pipe in our house," Ford said.
Specifically, a 12-inch yet-to-be-buried gas line that somehow broke free from its above-ground pylons on the hill above the family's home.
"It's about 12 inches around," Ford said. "It was about 3,500 pounds and it's 700 feet," Ford said. "Wrecked our house."
"It could have been a lot worse," he added.
While the massive main wasn't carrying natural gas, the debris from drilling into the home bent and ruptured the gas line to the family's furnace, which could have led to an explosion. And then there's this chilling fact.
"We normally have Christmas here, but we went up our camp," Ford said. "But if we'd had it here, we'd of all been in the basement."
Hyperion Midstream, the company responsible for the pipeline, released the following statement over the incident saying, in part:
"On the evening of December 28, 2022, Hyperion Midstream identified that a section of pipe being stored in connection with the construction of the Porter to Zeus Pipeline released from its cribbing and impacted a private home.
"The section of pipe has been removed from the residence, and Hyperion is working closely with the resident. "
"Not an easy fix," Ford said.
So what's next for the Ford family? They're awaiting an insurance adjuster to determine if the home can be saved.
