Collin County Gas Explosion Records 2 Deaths, 3 Injured
A gas explosion in Collin County has killed two people and injured others, according to officials.
Collin County Sheriff's Office said that the explosion occurred on Monday noon near the area of Farm-to-Market 2756 and Highway 78, according to an NBC local news report.
Officials had already secured the area by 5:30 p.m. However, they still urge the public to stay away from the area.
Among the respondents on the scene were the Wylie Fire Department, Collin County Sheriff's Office, Farmersville Police Department, Collin County Fire Marshall, and Texas Department of Public Safety. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also joined the involved agencies in responding to the gas explosion.
The Farmersville police chief said that the people involved in the explosion were contractors for Atmos Energy. However, they are not actual Atmos employees, according to a WFAA report.
The police chief said that the contractors were servicing a gas line in the area when the explosion happened.
WFAA reported that two were killed and three were injured during the incident.
Authorities are not yet clear if it was a rupture involving a high-pressure line. There was also no visible evidence of a fire, according to a Fox 4 News report.
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Dallas Pipeline Explosion in 2018
This was not the first time that Dallas has encountered a pipeline explosion in their area in the recent years. The same incident had occurred in 2018, which killed a 12-year-old girl in northwest Dallas.
The National Transportation Safety Board declared that the probable cause of the 2018 gas explosion was a natural gas leak from a pipe that was damaged during a replacement done over 20 years ago, according to a KERA News report.
Nation Transportation Safety board member, Jennifer Homendy, said that the procedure and decisions by Atmos Energy contributed to the explosions.
Homendy added that contributing to the degradation of the pipeline system was Atmos Energy's inadequate integrity management program.
The same leak had caused two other fires on Espanola Drive days before the deadly explosion. The crack in the main pipeline had caused other several gas leaks through the neighborhood that were undetected.
Sara Lyons, the investigator in charge, said that Atmos Energy could have tested the customer piping.
Atmos Energy said that weather conditions made it difficult to investigate or immediately repair multiple leaks. The temperature at the time ranged from 32 to 54 degrees, which was exacerbated by heavy rainfall.
Atmos released a statement on the 2018 incident, saying that it believes the natural gas main pipe was damaged by excavation equipment and points to unreported third-party damage that led to the pipe's crack and leak. The energy company said that their number one priority is the safety of the public, their employees, and their natural gas distribution system.
Gas Supply in Texas
There were concerns in the state during the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which is considered one of the largest pipelines in the U.S. The said pipeline runs from Houston up to New Jersey, and New York.
Director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University, Bruce Bullock, said at the time that Texas is in good shape, according to another WFAA report.
Bullock added that it should not affect the North Texas area as long as they don't panic. He noted that the supply at the time should be more than adequate.
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WATCH: 2 dead, 3 injured in gas line explosion in Collin County, officials say - WFAA