Gas Line May Have Sparked Lake Highlands House Fire
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Atmos is trying to figure out if a gas line caused a Lake Highlands home to go up in flames Wednesday morning.
The home's gas meter burned for two and a half hours. But the question is, did it catch fire or did the flames spread to it?
Firefighters received the call at 10:18.
When they arrived at the house on the 10800 block of Mapleridge Drive, they saw black smoke coming from behind the house. They also heard explosions.
Jason Evans, the Public Information Officer for Dallas Fire Rescue said, "We don't know the source of the sound as well as the fire. But there was a lot of lawn equipment and power tools being stored in the backyard. So, they could've been the source just as easily as the gas itself could've been the source."
Don Terasaki lives across the alley.
"It was a big fire. So, I called 911 and they hooked me up with the fire department. And by the time they got here, the flames were probably 20 feet high," he said.
"I guess he had some propane tanks in the back yard and they went off. I guess at that same time, the gas meter, it ruptured a little bit. So, it was spewing gas," he said.
Atmos shut off the gas at 12:51pm.
"It took a little bit of time to be able to knock down the fire on our meter and shut off the gas because the actual meter was engulfed in flames and the valve to release that was engulfed in flames," said Jennifer Ryan, Atmos Spokesperson.
Ryan said Atmos followed protocol allowing the gas to burn for two and a half hours under a controlled environment.
"Nobody was in any immediate danger and we had our guys work with the fire department to secure the area," she said.
If the gas and fire had been out of control, Atmos would have turned off the gas down stream. But, then everyone's house would be without gas.
The homeowner, Adam Davenport, a self-employed contractor, admitted something in his garage or backyard could have sparked the fire.
"I do have many electronics in the garage, a refrigerator out there also. Lots of electronics. Lots of tools, that could have, " he said.
He's only glad he was the only one home at the time.
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