Pa. Firefighters Avert 'Highly Explosive' Situation

CHARLEROI, Pa. -- A potentially explosive situation was averted when a real estate agent reported a strong odor of gas in a vacant house on Monday afternoon.

Emergency crews were called to 922 Lincoln Ave. in Charleroi after an agent checking on the property smelled gas upon gaining entry to the house.

According to Charleroi fire Captain Mike McBride, the agent immediately closed the door and called Columbia Gas Co.

"When the gas company got there and did a reading, it came back as 90 percent LEL," McBride said. LEL stands for Lower Explosive Limit.

"It was a highly explosive situation. It may have been too concentrated to ignite or it could have just been a matter of a small spark igniting the fumes," McBride added.

Fire crews were called to the scene at 1:30 p.m. and remained until 2:45.

"Columbia called us and we were able to use our positive pressure fan to get the gas level in the house down," McBride said. "It could have been a real bad situation."

The captain said the cause of the leak was a malfunctioning shutoff valve at the curb, which Columbia Gas crews were working to repair.

"The valve appeared to be shut off at the curb, but since it was malfunctioning, it wasn't completely closed," McBride said. "It was determined the leak in the house was coming from the hot water tank."

McBride added that the electricity to the house was shut off.

Officers from the Charleroi police department assisted firefighters at the scene.

Copyright 2012 - The Valley Independent, Monessen, Pa.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service