Two months after a home exploded in a West Park neighborhood, a state investigation concluded that the eruption that completely destroyed one home and damaged dozens more on Dec. 19 was “accidental,” likely caused by propane gas that leaked into the home from a “compromised” area on a gas line.
A home in the 5200 block of Southwest 20th Street suddenly exploded overnight, severely injuring two children and two adults and leaving nothing but rubble of the home that was the source. The blast shattered windows, cracked walls and damaged doors, among other issues, at about 40 other homes in the area, according to city records of the damage.
The home exploded from within, based on the fact that its walls, beams and roof were propelled outward, according to the Department of Financial Services’ report, which the South Florida Sun Sentinel received from the city on Tuesday afternoon. It was considered “accidental,” the report’s conclusion said.
None of the home’s walls were left standing. The debris field spanned over a block radius, according to the report. The roof had blown off and landed against an outside wall of a house to its west, concrete blocks were propelled onto the roof of an adjacent house to the east and the home’s front door was found in someone’s front yard.
Two neighbors said they smelled gas a few days before the explosion and on the day of, according to the report. One of the neighbors said there was “work being done” at the home the day before it exploded.
The report said “evidence of an active construction site was observed at the property,” including pallets of concrete blocks wrapped in plastic to the northwest of the property and a “freshly dug trench” about 10 feet south of where the home previously stood.
Investigators saw a 200-pound propane tank on Southwest 52nd Avenue, which Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue personnel had removed from its original place for safety reasons, according to the report.
The tank had a cap on it “with a visible leak at the cap.” Representatives of the company that owned the gas tank, AmeriGas, said there was still “a large amount” of gas inside, according to the report.
Investigators inspected a gas line to the south of the home, which “was observed to be damaged in multiple areas due to the explosion” and could not be pressure tested, the report said. Both ends of the line were capped.
“The end of the gas line leading inside the structure had a loose cap, however it is undetermined if it was loose before or after the explosion,” the report said.
No other fuel sources at the property aside from propane were found, there were no natural gas sources into the home and investigators did not find any gas-powered appliances, the report said.
“The verified presence of a propane tank confirms the witness’s testimony of smelling fugitive gas days prior,” the report’s conclusion said. “It is my hypothesis that propane gas entered the structure via an area compromised on the gas line.”
Once gas leaked into the home, it “was picked up through” a part of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, “which then distributed and mixed the gases to all rooms within the structure via the air ducts,” the report said.
Several things could have detonated the propane once the levels reached explosive amounts, according to the report, like a refrigerator, an AC unit or heating coils in the HVAC system. The only signs of fire noted were within the air handler, a part of the HVAC system, and in the airducts, the report said.
“Insulation within the air handler and at the air vents exhibited evidence of fire and some discoloration,” the report said. “Several airducts exhibited melting at the plastic.”
The owner of the destroyed home said at the scene that he “‘hired someone to cut the line’ referring to the gas line,” the report said. Then on Jan. 4, the home owner “stated he purchased the house ‘as is’ and never touched the gas line.”
Two investigators scheduled a meeting with the homeowner and his son for Jan. 5, but the report said he and his son did not attend, according to the report. The homeowner told investigators on Jan. 5 that he needed to check his schedule to find a date they could meet. The report did not say if they had a later meeting.
The owner of the home that exploded did not immediately return a voicemail left Tuesday evening.
Investigators on Jan. 8 requested any records from the city of building blueprints and permits at the property that exploded. The report does not provide further information about the records received.
About 40 residents, the majority who live on Southwest 20th Street, Southwest 21st Street and Southwest 19th Street, filled out forms city officials provided in the aftermath to document their damage. Most described multiple broken windows and lights, damaged doors, cracked ceilings and broken household belongings, the documents show.
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