91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn

Fire Dept.: Gas Explosion That Leveled Building Was Accident

City of Durham

North Carolina fire investigators have determined that a deadly natural gas explosion in a busy shopping district earlier this year was accidental.

The Durham Fire Department issued a reportFriday on the April 10 explosion that killed two people and injured 25 while leveling a downtown building and damaging others.

The report said the explosion was caused when leaking natural gas ignited, but the precise source of the ignition remains unclear. The report says a crew boring for fiber optic cable hit the line and caused the leak.

The fire department said there is no evidence of criminal intent to warrant a prosecution.

A coffee shop owner was killed in the blast. The other death was a gas company worker who responded to the leak and died later in the month.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
Related Stories
  1. Clean-Up Continues Three Months After Deadly Durham Gas Explosion
  2. 'All Our Dad Wanted Was To Be Everyone's Dad'; Durham Coffee Shop Owner Memorialized
More Stories
  1. Father of NFL cornerback Caleb Farley killed in explosion at North Carolina home
  2. Saint James Restaurant Reopens
  3. North Carolina News Stories Of 2019 In Pictures
  4. State Fines Utility, Subcontractors In Deadly Gas Explosion
  5. Memorial Service For Worker Who Suffered Fatal Injuries In Durham Gas Explosion