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Utility worker pierced pipe before gas blast
Posted 11/26/12
SPRINGFIELD — A natural gas explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 buildings in Springfield’s entertainment district was blamed Sunday on a utility worker who accidentally punctured a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak.
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said the Friday night blast was caused by “human error.” He didn’t name the Columbia Gas Co. worker who pierced the pipe while responding to reports of a gas leak.
The worker damaged the underground pipe while using a metal tool to locate the source of the leak, Coan said. A flood of gas then built up in a building that housed a strip club, and some kind of spark touched off the blast, officials said.
Coan said the employee was following older markings on a sidewalk that indicated the location of the gas line. He appeared to be an appropriate distance from the line, but the markings were incorrect and the worker accidentally punctured the pipe.