It may not feel like it, but many of us have been fortunate to enjoy a tediously predictable winter. For some families, the tedium has been interrupted by something sudden and shocking.
Nine suspected gas explosions affecting tenants and homeowners have taken place across Britain between since late October 2020 – nine blasts which caused deaths, injuries or serious building damage.
Four people have been killed and 13 others injured in these terrifying explosions, while dozens of neighbours have been evacuated from their homes amid the wreckage.
Texas Supreme Court allows abortion ban to go into effect
Earlier this week, a 61-year-old woman died and two people were wounded in a suspected gas explosion at a house near Bury which destroyed the place entirely. One neighbour said it was “like a bomb had been dropped in the middle of the street”.
Safety experts are calling on the government to investigate this “alarming” spate of incidents. So what exactly could be causing these eruptions? And how worried should we be about the safety of our homes?
Until recently, Darren Cornish had no reason to fear the safety of his parents’ home in Cornwall. The 48-year-old paramedic was visiting his mum and dad in Bude on the evening of 20 January when he noticed the smell of gas in the kitchen.
“Mum wanted to show me the cooker had still been working, went to switch it on and before I could stop her there was a massive flash – a blinding flash,” he told The Independent. “That was it. The walls on one side of the house were blown out. Horrendous. We were in total shock.
“Mum received flash burns on her arms and hands. Dad was lucky and was unscathed. I banged my head as I tripped over debris taking them outside. We were all lucky, I suppose, that the roof didn’t completely fall in.”
Mr Cornish said his parents were using two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders stored behind the house, operating the cooker through a series of pipes. “We think there might have been some sort of leak somewhere, but we just aren’t sure yet.”
He added: “I thought it would be so rare, so it’s surprising to read some of the other stories and find out explosions have been happening elsewhere in the past few months.”
This week’s explosion at a home in the quiet village of Summerseat, on the outskirts of Bury, has left the community in shock. There were reports of a gas smell in the air in the aftermath of the blast.
While inquiries are at an early stage, Greater Manchester Police said the gas supply to the street had been isolated in an attempt to work out what had happened. GMP, Greater Manchester Fire Rescue Service and the local supplier Cadent Gas are all involved in probing the precise cause.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which probes all incidents related to work-related harm, said it is currently “liaising” with police about the cause of the explosion near Bury, and whether it needs to investigate.
In fact, of the nine recent blasts, the HSE is actively investigating four of them. The executive’s inquiries include the blast at Mr Cornish’s parents home in Bude, and a suspected gas explosion at a house in Portsmouth on 1 January.
Three people were injured in the blast on the south coast, which ripped through the back of the terraced house.
The executive is also looking into two suspected gas explosions from December: one at a house in Illingworth, west Yorkshire, in which three people were injured; the other at a house in Peterhead in Scotland in which no one was hurt.
In the other recent cases, the HSE is satisfied there are no work-related issues – problems with gas mains supply or work done installing a gas device. So it’s been left to other agencies to work out the cause.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has got to the bottom of a huge explosion in the village of Cressage on 26 November, described by one witness as an “erupting” fire ball.
A spokesman told The Independent that a fire at a property on Severn Way spread to a “bullet” tank full of LPG gas, which then erupted. Although several homes were damaged, thankfully no one was hurt.
Elsewhere, Ealing Council is leading inquiries into October’s suspected gas explosion at a shop underneath flats in Southall, west London, in which two people died. London Fire and Rescue Service is probing November’s suspected gas explosion at a block of flats in Stratford, east London, in which one man died.
