Posted on 11/11/2012 8:35:35 PM PST by JerseyanExile
Splintered beams and boards on a piece of charred earth were all that remained Sunday where at least two Indianapolis homes were leveled in a blast that killed two people and rendered homes for blocks uninhabitable. A backhoe raked through the rubble in the middle-class subdivision as clusters of firefighters and rescue workers weary from a long, chaotic day that began late the night before waited for their next assignment.
The two-story, brick-faced homes on either side of those demolished by the blast were ruins. One home's roof was gone, a blackened husk left behind. On the other side of the gap, the side of a home was sheared off. Across the street, garage doors had buckled from the heat.
It wasn't yet clear what caused the blast that shook the neighborhood at 11 p.m. Saturday. Residents described hearing a loud boom that blew out windows and collapsed ceilings. Some thought a plane had crashed or that it was an earthquake.
Alex Pflanzer, who was asleep when the nearby homes were leveled, said he heard his wife screaming and thought someone was breaking in his house. Grabbing his gun, he checked the house and saw the front door was standing open.
"I walked outside and all the houses were on fire," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“There was a very odd “smell” thoughout the southside after the explosion and it was still lingering in the wind at 2:00AM. It was NOT the smell of natural gas and it did not have the typical “house fire” smell. It smell almost sweet, floral, but musky. (That’s the best I can describe it.)”
Nitrous Oxide has a faint sweet smell.
But they add Sulfur Dioxide to Nitrous Oxide these days to thwart the huffers...
I saw a pic of this Sunday AM, and my first guess was gas leak. Has this happen in my neighborhood when I was a kid and it took out 3 houses and killed 3-4. Two of the houses were leveled like some at the epicenter of this blast.
From practical experience from seeing the results, enough to level the house and have insulation falling out of the sky like snow a 1/2 mile away. See my previous post.
Mythbusters ignites air/Methane mixture in a confined/closed area (simulating a sewer pipe in this case); note how the pressure wave of the igniting wavefront compresses the un-ignited air on the far left as the flamefront progresses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DokeJj0pxPw
See my post just above, re: flamefront working to compress the un-ignited air/methane mixture (as the flamefront progresses forward). These ‘ignition’ events aren’t static things (there is forward momentum, and that is imparted to debris and walls as well as the pressure factor) ...
Also, did you see the Philly explosion? What was the wind like that night? 1/2 mile is not that far for debris in wind ...
Hmmm; no laughing matter, here; for sure and 'however'. . .
Well; this may have it. Incredible the damage; whatever the case.
Most of the information to start the investigation is in the photograph at the beginning of the thread. Notice the house was blown away from the foundation and look at the burn marks in the foundation.
I don't understand that post.
In my city, if she called about gas at her furnace, then the gas company would come out and inspect it, and if there was a small problem with no real safety issues, then they may give her a break and write up a notice, and tell her to call a plumber, if there was any danger, then they would lock the meter, and then a licensed plumber and a permit, and a full pressurized test of the entire system after the repair, and a city inspection of that work and test would be required.
Since the gas company only works from the outside meter back through their lines in the yard, then all of their work area would be outdoors, and it would be very simple and straightforward, basic, and it would be hard to make such a gross mistake with it.
Contrary to what the article says....those do not look like BRICK houses.
Natural gas. I’m sticking with it from experience.
- - - - - - -
From the article:
Dan Considine, a spokesman for Citizens Energy, said the utility had not received any calls from people smelling natural gas in that area.
"Most of the time, when there's a gas leak, people smell it," he said. "But not always."
= = = = = =
Stating no gas leak was reported, is not the same as saying it was not a gas leak. I would bet money on a gas leak.
Read a report and this report also may contain there were no reports of “rotten egg smell” which would indicate natural gas. Imagine there is checking to see if possibly chemical not added for smelling of leak, if it was a leak.
Viable thoughts.
They said an initial inspection detected no gas leaks. You missed a post.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2958463/posts?page=14#14
If the “authorities” are stalling the announcement of a cause, you can rest assured that “No terrorism was involved”
Acetone peroxide is a favorite of ROP adherents. As any welder knows, acetylene defines the term musky smell.
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