What Happened
What Happened
On May 28, 2024, about 2:44 p.m. local time, a natural gas–fueled explosion at the Realty Building in Youngstown, Ohio, caused 1 fatality and 9 injuries that required hospitalization. The natural gas originated from a 1-inch-diameter steel service line (accident service line) in the building’s basement. The explosion also caused significant structural damage to the building, which contained a Chase Bank and 22 apartment residences. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were 70°F with 14-mph winds and no precipitation.
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What We Found
What We Found
We determined that the probable cause of the explosion and subsequent fatality was a cut by a scrap-removal crew into an active Enbridge Inc. service line, which was incorrectly documented as having been abandoned years earlier by the pipeline owner at the time, Dominion Energy Inc., and which allowed natural gas to leak into the Realty Building where it was ignited by an unknown source. Contributing to the severity of the accident were Chase Bank’s emergency procedures that did not require employees to immediately evacuate upon being alerted to a natural gas leak.
What We Recommended
Document Pipeline Abandonement and Deactiviation Activities
Natural gas pipeline operators must accurately document their pipeline abandonment and deactivation activities to prevent pipeline damage and accidental releases similar to this accident.
- In 2017, the NTSB also investigated a fatal home explosion in Firestone, Colorado, that resulted from natural gas migrating from an improperly abandoned underground facility into the basement of a residence, further underscoring the importance of proper pipeline abandonment.
After the accident in Youngstown, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio oversaw Enbridge’s excavation of 10 service lines that were documented as abandoned around the same time as the accident service line.
- Enbridge found that two of these service lines were still pressurized with gas.
- Enbridge also reported after the accident that it was investigating 5,951 other pipelines that were documented as abandoned but whose records contained inconsistent or unconfirmed data.
- The company found that 79 of these pipelines were active. Enbridge subsequently properly abandoned them according to the new procedure and updated their corresponding records.
In August 2024, Enbridge issued a pipeline safety alert advising crews about a revised practice for disconnecting and abandoning service lines. According to the revised practice, before completing a service line cut order, the pipeline must be exposed for visual confirmation that the service line has been effectively cut from the main and capped off. Training materials have been updated to reinforce the revised practice. Enbridge also is installing warning tags on their interior piping assets to alert customers of the presence of pressurized gas and how to contact the gas company.
After the accident, Chase Bank revised its emergency guidelines and employee training to require immediate evacuation during incidents involving gas leaks.
Ohio Edison revised training courses for employees on its emergency processes to reiterate the importance of coordinating and communicating with external incident commanders during all incidents, including those in which no specific work order has been given, to facilitate timely response in emergency situations and reduce delays.
