Two Injured in TX Natural Gas Explosion

April 2, 2018
Firefighters were called in early Monday after a suspected natural gas explosion injured two men at a South Dallas duplex.

April 02--Atmos Energy is investigating another suspected gas explosion, this time at a duplex in South Dallas.

The explosion was reported to Dallas Fire-Rescue about 12:45 a.m. Monday in the 3700 block of Spring Avenue, near Fair Park.

Firefighters arrived to find a blaze in the yard of the damaged home, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.

Two men were injured on the side of duplex where the explosion occurred. Evans said the injured men had unspecified burn injuries, but were walking around and talking when firefighters arrived. They were taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

Two men on the other side of the duplex were not injured.

Investigators believe the explosion is gas-related but have not determined its cause yet, Evans said.

The American Red Cross was helping the displaced residents.

Atmos Energy was also called to the scene to shut off gas and investigate. The company said in a written statement about 8 a.m. that it didn't find any signs of natural gas outside the home.

"As a reminder, if you smell natural gas please leave the area immediately and from a safe distance call 911 and the Atmos Energy emergency line at 1-866-322-8667," the company said.

Monday's incident occurred 10 miles from a northwest Dallas neighborhood where three gas-related explosions in February sparked questions about Atmos' gas distribution lines.

Atmos has blamed heavy rains in February and "unique" soil compositions for a February 23 explosion that killed a 12-year-old girl.

Federal investigators have said Atmos was aware of gas leaks in the northwest Dallas neighborhood for more than seven weeks before a fatal blast.

Days later, the entire neighborhood was evacuated and Atmos cut off service to 2,800 residents while it worked on repairs.

The 12-year-old victim's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit last week, alleging that Atmos' failure to maintain its gas lines as required by federal and state law led to the girl's death and injuries to her family and neighbors.

___ (c)2018 The Dallas Morning News Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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