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Tag: gas leak

  • Adopted Dog Saves the Life of Owner

    Erin Cramer has a lot to be thankful for these days. She is especially thankful for her family’s newly adopted dog. The greyhound named Clobberhead saved Cramer’s life in a potentially life-threatening situation.

    One day when Cramer stayed home from work because she was feeling ill, she noticed Clobberhead acting a tad strange.

    The dog started hitting his head against a wall prompting Cramer to take him outside for some fresh air. Cramer felt the dog trying to bring her back inside, eventually convincing the new dog owner to open the laundry room door.

    Once the door was propped open, Cramer understood Clobberhead’s actions and realized the pressing danger at hand. A natural gas leak from the apartment’s laundry room was causing the pup to react.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFA9OhXylfU

    “This wall of gas just came pouring out,” Cramer said after the realized there was a leak. Her water heater had sprung a leak causing it to spark.

    According to experts, the gas fumes had the potential to take out her house and the others around it.

    “If it wasn’t for him (Clobberhead) coming into our lives, we probably wouldn’t be here right now,” Cramer thankfully said.

    Cramer picked up the smart greyhound from a shelter a few months ago.

    Image Via YouTube

  • New York City Explosion: Two Confirmed Dead

    “It’s a very active scene. It’s a very chaotic scene,” said Fire Department spokesman Michael Parrella as he attempted to describe the aftermath of an explosion that occurred in New York City this morning.

    The powerful explosion caused the collapse of a building located at East 114th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem.

    As of now there are two reported fatalities following the building collapse and at least sixteen injuries. The names of the deceased, both women, have not been released to the public.

    The collapse is thought to have occurred between 9:00 am and 9:30 am.

    Officials have yet to determine the exact cause of the explosion, however residents in the area say that there has been the faintest scent of gas lingering in the area for days. The electric company Con Ed reportedly was requested on rush for a gas leak.

    The New York Police Department said in a statement that it was investigating the nature of the explosion and collapse, which impacted two buildings, which PIX11 reportedly houses a Spanish Christian Church and a piano repair shop.

    One boy was rescued from the debris by eyewitnesses named Alex and David who were across the street from the smoldering rubble. One of the men told PIX11 the boy “had a controller for a PlayStation in his hand”. “He wasn’t moving,” said Alex, “but he had his eyes open.”

    They lamented that despite the fact that a major tragedy was happening in front of them, a number of people were standing around filming the event with their smartphones rather than trying to help.

    Despite the good intentions of these individuals, they were instructed by police and firefighters to stay back as the scene was still very dangerous.

    For now all Metro-North service out of Grand Central station has been suspended. Passengers off trains that were near the explosion were ordered off at the Fordham station in the Bronx.

    Image via Twitter

  • East Harlem Building Collapse: 2 Dead, Many Injured

    At 9:31 am EST, New York City firefighters responded to an explosion and building collapse at 1644-46 Park Avenue in East Harlem. Thus far, two people been reported dead, with at least 16 more suffering from injuries.

    Prior to the explosion, Con Edison, a New York City utility service, had received a call from a resident at 1652 Park Avenue complaining of a gas smell in her apartment. That call came 18 minutes before the two buildings collapsed.

    The five-story buildings held a church and a piano repair shop on the ground levels and hosted 12 total apartments.

    Jennifer Salas, a 20-year-old resident of the apartment, saw warning signs as early as yesterday: “Last night it smelled like gas but then the smell vanished and we all went to sleep. We tried to find the source of the gas but since the smell left, we all went to sleep.” Salas’s husband is currently still missing.

    As it currently stands, the 150+ firefighters who responded from 39 different units are still working to extinguish the flames and excavate the destruction to look for residents and patrons.

    Residents of East Harlem who witnessed the collapse were shocked at the impact of the explosion: “I saw a lady running with no shoes on. It was crazy. It was like a war zone. … I thought it was an earthquake. I got calls from my family who felt it too and that was all the way up town,” reported one witness.

    “It was loud, like boom, boom! It rocked the whole block. A window blew out of the other shop down the street. It looked like the towers all over again. People covered in dust and covering their mouths,” added Mitch Abreu, an employee at a nearby barbershop.

    The two buildings which collapsed have been plagued by many infrastructure issues over the years. Last summer, the building at 1644 Park Avenue was scheduled to have a 120 foot piece of gas pipe installed to a fifth floor stove. Officials at New York heating could not confirm if that work had been completed.

    The other building at 1646 Park Avenue was cited several years ago for having a vertical crack in the rear wall “which is hazardous to the safety of the structure.” The owner of the building at the time of the citation paid the $1,335 fine, but there are no records to indicate that the structure of the building was ever repaired.

    Image via Twitter

  • Corpus Christi Explosion Leaves Three Injured

    A gas leak may be the cause of an explosion in Corpus Christi, Texas that left two people critically injured and a third with minor injuries. Firefighters responded to the explosion, on the 4800 block of Holmes Drive, Friday morning around 5:30 am.

    Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters witnessed flames coming from the center of the home and saw that the roof had been blown away.

    To fight the flames, firefighters had to shut off two transformers that ultimately left approximately twenty homes without electricity. While the investigation to the cause of the explosion is underway, power to the homes is going to be left off as a precautionary measure and may not be restored until late Saturday or Sunday.

    The source of the explosion started inside the house, not outside. We believe there was a natural gas build up inside the home, but investigators will be here next week to make a final decision.
    -Fire Captain, James Brown

    Three people were rescued from the home where the explosion originated. Two of them were listed as critically injured and were transported to Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital where they were later flown to San Antonio Military Medical Center’s burn unit to undergo treatment.

    Witnesses say that the explosion could be felt miles away and caused damage to homes within a three block radius. Three homes were significantly damaged, with the others sustaining mild to moderate damages. The home where the explosion originated was destroyed.

    Neighbor Gloria De Los Santos recalled feeling the blast early this morning. “My bed just shook and we just felt that blast, and we were just all shaken up. And we didn’t notice that all our windows were busted out, and we went outside to see what happened and the house was all gone,” said De Los Santos.

    Mike Obenhaus described the scene he witnessed while eating at a restaurant nearby. “The house had exploded. All the walls were down. The roof was already on the ground. We saved a little boy, a little girl, a mom and dad. Then the adjacent house started catching fire.”