[fireman15]

When I was still a probationary firefighter, my lieutenant and I were just about to enter a house on fire when gas from a propane tank in the basement exploded and blew out all of the doors and windows in the house from top to bottom. It didn't flatten the house but it did remind me of a lot of those Hollywood movie scenes where a house blows up with fire coming out of all of the openings. And of course the place burned to the ground after that.

I went to a whole lot of gas leaks during my career, the vast majority of which didn't cause any real damage so they get to routine. But I never forgot that gas has a wide explosive range and can cause an impressive and dangerous explosion under the right circumstances.

[BBell]

I'm glad that happened to you during your probationary period. You had no time to become complacent and I bet you always thought of it when you had a similar call.

Of course it would have been better if it had never happened to you at all.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

A house full of gas is basically a pressure-cooker bomb.

[lightman]

In my part of southern PA at least one house is leveled every winter due to NG explosions brought on by deep freeze cracking of the lines.

Happened to a small town fire chief about 20 years ago.

We hate the digging up of the streets for line replacement but those old pipes are killers.