THIS IS the side of the twin-home on Madison's N.E. 11th St. that suffered an explosion last February. Tuesday morning, eight different agencies sent representatives to the property to commence a full investigation as to the official cause of the accident.
REPRESENTATIVES FROM eight different agencies congregated at the twin-home on N.E. 11th to gather materials and information regarding a gas explosion that occurred last February. The gas meter, along with all other relevant materials, will taken in for testing to determine their potential involvement in the explosion.
TWO VEHICLES are still trapped in the garage of a twin-home on N.E. 11th St., which collapsed following the explosion last February. Once the official cause has been determined through evidence gathered at the scene, the property will be demolished.
THIS IS the side of the twin-home on Madison's N.E. 11th St. that suffered an explosion last February. Tuesday morning, eight different agencies sent representatives to the property to commence a full investigation as to the official cause of the accident.
Photo by Zac Zwaschka
REPRESENTATIVES FROM eight different agencies congregated at the twin-home on N.E. 11th to gather materials and information regarding a gas explosion that occurred last February. The gas meter, along with all other relevant materials, will taken in for testing to determine their potential involvement in the explosion.
Photo by Zac Zwaschka
TWO VEHICLES are still trapped in the garage of a twin-home on N.E. 11th St., which collapsed following the explosion last February. Once the official cause has been determined through evidence gathered at the scene, the property will be demolished.
At the end of this winter, Madison witnessed two home explosions in less than a month’s time, shocking the public and rallying residents to check their gas meters. The first of these explosions occurred in a twin-home on N.E. 11th St. on Feb. 23, and now, a full investigation has commenced to identify the official cause.
On Tuesday morning, eight different agencies gathered at the twin-home, including the building’s contractor and insurance company, representatives from NorthWestern Energy as well as other relevant parties. Madison Fire Chief Randy Minneart was also in attendance to address any of their questions on the day of the incident.
“They’re going through everything, trying to determine what happened and what was the cause,” Mayor Roy Lindsay said. He added that when a situation like this arises, the question becomes where the liability will rest.
“They’ve taken the [gas] meter and things off, and that will all go in for testing,” Lindsay explained, gesturing to a board where the materials had been gathered for transport.
“Every joint, every piece will be tested to see if the gas leak was related to anything on there,” Lindsay noted. He added that they were also testing the gas lines in and outside the twin-home, as well as all electric installations, so the eight agencies could craft the fullest picture as to what went wrong.
“It shows how many people get involved in trying to determine what happened in the case of an accidental explosion such as this,” Lindsay said.
Lindsay added that from the city’s standpoint, finding the specific cause is important as it can help lead to any necessary changes in building regulations that could prevent accidents like this from occurring again. At the time of the explosion, the twin-home was occupied by Robin and Shelly Shaw, as well as their son Caleb, with the twin-home connect being occupied by Ann E. Belatti. None of these people sustained serious injury during the incident and have since found new housing.
Back in February, the leading theory for the cause of the explosion was a leak in the gas meter caused by heavy snowfall piling on top of it, which then caused the attic to fill with gas.
Once the explosion itself took place, the roof of the Shaw’s side of the twin-home collapsed, including the garage that housed two vehicles. While this could still be the case, the results of the investigation will say for certain. Lindsay said that these results should be released in the coming months.
