Durham critiques response to fatal gas explosion, finds staffing, coordination lacking
Seven months after a natural gas explosion near downtown Durham, the city's emergency management officials and fire department released two reports Tuesday critiquing the response to the incident and suggesting changes for future emergencies.
Posted — UpdatedThe April 10 explosion rocked the 100 block of North Duke Street, killing the owner of the Kaffeinate coffee shop. A PSNC Energy employee who had responded to the reported gas leak died two weeks later of injuries he suffered in the blast.
Gas flowed for about an hour, filling underground cavities near Kaffeinate, before the blast, the department's report said. Firefighters haven't been able to pinpoint what ignited the explosion, however.
PSNC, part of Dominion Energy, and PS Splicing LLC, an Oxford-based telecommunications subcontractor working on the underground cable project, also were cited for violations by the Labor Department.
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