In the early 80’s I managed a convenience store in Towson, MD. The store opened at 6AM so I arrived at 5:30 AM to open the store.
As soon as I got out of my car on the far side of the parking lot, I smelled a very strong odor of natural gas and when I opened the front door of the store it was even stronger.
I decided not to switch the lights on or turn on anything electrical but did call 9-11.
I propped both the front and back doors to the store open to try to air it out but while I was waiting outside for the fire department and BGE to show up, a guy pulled up with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth.
I yelled at him to put the cig out and not come any closer. I think he thought I was crazy. I also ran out and stopped any customers from coming in, telling them there was a gas leak and it was dangerous.
The long and short of it was a gas line in the store next door, a travel agency that had come disconnected. FWIW they were having renovations being done and evidently the gas had been leaking all night.
Both the fire Marshall and the guy from BGE told me that my quick thinking, not turning on lights, etc., probably prevented the whole place from blowing up.
But I got written up by company management for not opening the store on time.
That last line above caught me by surprise, but it shouldn't have. The company should've commended you - not reprimanded you.
Two gas explosions happened in my old neighborhood (see #55 above). One was triggered when someone switched on the lights.
If the explosion in this case was a gas leak, as is suspected, and everyone could smell the gas, then the company (or, at least, the bosses that report to their bosses) must've been more concerned about the production of candy for the Easter season than the employees.
The latest news for Palmer's is 4 dead and 3 still missing. Really sad...