Maybe they didn't know they were supposed to turn it off. (The building supervisor) Who knows some of those type of controls are kept under lock & key.
I was referring to the city gas supply. It's still on and still fuelling fires all over the place!
I was thinking that. Also that by the time the knew they should, they couldn't get to the controls. They also probably never foresaw this -- expecting damage, of course, and some flooding and probable electric power failures, which would make a gas stove invaluable.