State report: Gas lines properly marked prior to Durham explosion

The April 10, 2019, blast on North Duke Street rocked the area west of downtown Durham, killing two people and injuring about two dozen others.

The Pipeline Safety Section of the North Carolina Utilities Commission investigated the incident and noted that the gas line was properly marked prior to the digging. Previous investigations noted utility line markings on the street but did not say if the markings were accurate.

Although it wasn't identified by name in the report Friday, Optic Cable Technology of Durham was the contractor operating the drill that hit the gas line. The report also faults the company for not immediately calling gas provider PSNC Energy or emergency officials about the gas line rupture.

PSNC responded properly to the explosion and cooperated with the investigation of the incident, according to the report.

Gas flowed for about an hour after the rupture, filling underground cavities near the Kaffeinate coffee shop, before the blast, according to a Durham Fire Department investigation. The owner of Kaffeinate died in the explosion.

One key question the new findings still don’t address is what caused the natural gas to ignite. Previous investigations also failed to name an ignition source.

The state Department of Labor cited Optic Cable for two serious violations of workplace safety regulations, each carrying a $7,000 fine. Inspectors said the company failed to locate nearby utilities, including the gas line, before drilling and then failed to call the 811 service for a utility response or 911 for emergency assistance.

PSNC, part of Dominion Energy, and another contractor, Granville County-based PS Splicing, also were cited for serious violations. Inspectors said PS Splicing, which hired Optic Cable, didn’t perform regular inspections at the site, which could have identified the potential for a gas line rupture, and that PSNC allowed its employee to respond to a gas leak without personal protective gear, even parking his car in the blast zone.

Each of the companies is still appealing fines for those violations.

A PSNC employee who had responded to the reported gas leak died two weeks later of injuries he suffered in the blast.