A natural gas leak caused the house explosion in Haymarket on Tuesday that displaced two families, Prince William County Fire & Rescue confirmed this afternoon.
The first unit of firefighters arrived at the house in the 5900 blk of Coby Hunt Ct. at 4:25 p.m. on Tuesday and found a 2” gas line damaged and leaking after a private contractor that was replacing the water line to the home struck and ruptured the gas line, PWC Fire & Rescue reported.
The initial responding unit immediately requested the assistance of Washington Gas and then evacuated the impacted home and others in the immediate area, the department stated.
The leak was reportedly still active when the explosion occurred at approximately 5:36 pm. According to PWC Fire & Rescue, the gas company had been on site for over 20 minutes at that point.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the ignition point was still unknown. PWC Fire & Rescue said there are multiple possibilities and the scene is still being studied.
The two families who lived in the home were unrelated. In total, the residents included 4 adults and 2 children. No one was injured.
Surrounding residents were allowed to return home last night after their electricity was restored. But eight homes are expected to face disruption of their natural gas service for up to 2 days, and several vehicles were damaged from flying debris.
PWC Fire & Rescue said The Red Cross has responded to assist the displaced families.
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