Blast puts focus on gas safety

Murrieta blast shows need to alert utility before digging for new construction or a remodel, officials say.

Contractor didn’t get legally required check before Murrieta fatality, utility says.

Southern California Gas Co. said a huge explosion Monday at a house in Murrieta that left a utility worker dead and 15 others injured underscores the dangers of home improvements and construction without following gas safety rules.

Cedric Williams, the company’s vice president of construction, said a preliminary investigation shows that a contractor at the house did not call the utility’s designated 811 line so that workers could come mark the gas lines, as required by law. There is no record of the contractor filing a ticket with the company, he said.

“No matter what you’re doing, if you’re digging, please call 811,” Williams said at a news briefing. “Not calling 811 makes it dangerous for everyone.”

The 811 call center notifies the appropriate utility company to mark buried lines before digging begins.

At a news conference Tuesday, officials emphasized that under California law, homeowners, contractors and businesses are required to make that call before starting a digging project.

Southern California Gas Co. responded to reports that a natural gas line was damaged during work on the home Monday morning. The explosion occurred at 12:10 p.m., after utility crews had arrived.

The company said an 11year employee was killed and another was taken to a hospital.

The employee who died was identified as Wade Kilpatrick, 31 — a lead construction technician who started in 2008 as a meter reader. He is survived by his mother, a sister and six brothers, including one who is also an employee at the company.

Three Murrieta firefighters were among the 15 injured, according to Murrieta Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief David Lantzer. The others who were hurt were all civilians, he said.

Officials announced Tuesday that the firefighters had been released from the hospital, as had the other injured Southern California Gas Co. worker. Kilpatrick’s body has been recovered.

Four homes have been red-tagged, indicating that it is unsafe to go inside. One has been yellow-tagged as unsuitable for overnight stays, and several houses are covered in broken glass and have lost power.

Officials are continuing to investigate the explosion, assessing the extent of the damage and working on a plan to return residents to their homes.

Everyone is accounted for, and six residents were being housed at a care facility set up at Vista Murrieta High School.

Southern California Gas, the primary gas provider for Southern California, stopped the flow of gas to the property at 1 p.m.

Following the explosion, rattled residents posted reactions on Twitter, saying it shook homes in the area.

One video showed smoke covering a neighborhood on Clinton Keith Road as firefighters tried to extinguish cascading flames that appeared to engulf a corner home.

Resident Kevin McKinney, 63, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise he found a man lying on the street next to the blast site.

“Just a huge, huge explosion and then I heard screams and went outside,” he told the newspaper.