by Gregg MacDonald
Staff Writer
A little more than 13 months after his home exploded, Thuan Nguyen of Chantilly says he is awaiting word from Washington Gas, a Springfield-based utility, as to what happened.
Nguyen said he has been told that a Washington Gas internal investigation is ongoing, but the Commonwealth of Virginia State Corporation Commission — the state regulatory agency for utilities in Virginia — recently finished its own report.
As of Dec. 20, 2010, charred debris was all that remained of the Nguyen family's two-story Brookfield house in the 4300 block of Lees Corner Road, after an explosion the night before shot the house's roof upward and blew its front door across the street. As a result of the blast, aluminum siding on two adjacent houses melted, and several large trees nearby caught fire.
Nguyen, his wife and their two children had left the house an hour before to go to dinner — a fact for which he is grateful.
"Some friends invited us to dinner that night, and it saved our lives," he said.
But their lives were the only thing the family was able to retain. Everything else was destroyed.
In February 2011, Fairfax Fire Department investigator Capt. Paul Masiello told those in attendance at a public forum staged by the Brookfield Civic Association that although the ignition source had not been conclusively identified, there was a "known gas leak" below the street in front of Nguyen’s house.
"It is my opinion that natural gas migrated from that leak into the house," Masiello said.
That same evening, Steve Price, head of the Washington Gas Field Operations Division, confirmed Nyguyen’s home had been serviced by the utility, and that a gas leak was discovered directly in front of the home under the street.
But Price told those assembled that the Fire and Rescue Department's conclusions were not definitive, and it was not certain the explosion was conclusively even a "natural gas event."
On March 31, Washington Gas Director of Communications Ruben Rodriguez sent a letter to the Brookfield Civic Association informing them that an internal investigation was ongoing, and said there was no way of knowing when the investigation might conclude.
"Our investigation continues, so we have not yet contacted the Nguyens," Rodriguez then told the Times. "We will inform them as soon as any developments occur."
Before the explosion, Fairfax County tax records listed the Nguyen home's value at $391,000.
Nguyen and his family of four have been living in a nearby rental property since the explosion.
The Nguyen’s are building a new home on their property, which is expected to be completed by the end of February. Their homeowner's insurance company reimbursed them $216,000, which was their insurance policy limit.
"So we are paying for the rest of the new home out of our own pocket," Nguyen said, adding he and his family like the neighborhood and want to stay there despite everything they have been through.
Nguyen said he wants to know what is taking Washington Gas so long to conclude its investigation, and that his homeowner’s insurance company is considering legal action against the utility to recoup what it has reimbursed him.
"To this day, Washington Gas has not contacted me or my family," Nguyen said. "They have never asked me a single question, or even said they were glad that no one was hurt. We’ve gotten no word at all ...”
On Jan. 19, at another public forum conducted by the Brookfield Civic Association, a Nov. 30 illustrated accident investigation report concerning the explosion — compiled by the State Corporation Commission’s Division of Utility and Railroad Safety — was made public to the residents of the community.
In the report, Washington Gas is cited with 11 probable violations of the Virginia State Corporation Commission's pipeline safety standards, and accuses the utility of not following proper post-explosion procedures, which led to the inability of the commission to come to a conclusion as to the cause of the explosion.
The report states the gas service line leading to Nguyen’s home experienced severe corrosion that resulted in a major gas leak.
However, the report says this fact alone is inconclusive because it can not be proved that a 1-inch diameter, steel customer-owned gas fuel line that “terminated on the second floor of the [Nguyen] residence” had been capped properly.
According to the report, the end threads of that fuel line were tested post-explosion for the presence of pipe thread sealant, and none was found.
“[Washington Gas] neither collected nor documented important information, and therefore, certain necessary facts are unknown …,” the report states. “The testing of the open-ended section of the customer-owned fuel line terminating on the second floor of the home did not conclusively show this pipe was capped. Accordingly, the Division of Utility and Railroad Safety cannot determine the source of the natural gas that caused the December 2010 accident …”
Rodriguez said Washington Gas responded Jan. 6 to the commission’s 11 “probable violation” allegations, and is waiting to have them “reviewed and dismissed” by the commission.
Meanwhile, many Brookfield residents who are Washington Gas customers are concerned about their own gas-fueled homes.
“My biggest concern is the infrastructure of the gas lines that were put in 45 years ago. If I lived in one of those gas-heated houses, I’d be concerned,” said Brookfield Civic Association President Larry Leeds.
Diane Fisher, who lives next door to the Nguyen’s, said the siding of her home melted as a result of the 2010 explosion.
“The rest of the people in this neighborhood are literally scared for their lives,” she said. “All except Mr. Nguyen, he actually made Washington Gas remove the gas line to his new home.”
“It’s true,” Nguyen said. “The new house will be all electric. Washington Gas may not want to pay me, but I know for a fact that I will no longer be paying them.”
gmacdonald@fairfaxtimes.com
