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Explosion of Natural Gas in an Apartment

Residential Gas Range Fire

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Underground Gas Migration and Building Explosion

Residential Natural Gas Explosion
and Fire

In the middle of the night, a multi-story residence in South San Francisco exploded and burned to the ground. APTECH was hired by the local gas utility to come to the site and conduct a root-cause investigation. An immediate site inspection was required because the local fire department authorities required that the smoldering debris be removed immediately. In this way, the fire could be completely extinguished and any threat to adjacent structures eliminated. APTECH was on site immediately and, working with other investigators, quickly determined that the gas pipeline into the building had been hack-sawed completely through at a location upstream of the regulator. Deliberate arson was the obvious cause and was eventually traced to the building's owner.

Satish Almaula		Plant failure and root cause analysis; process and design engineering analysis; process technology development and testing; plant engineering, operations, maintenance and safety management; plant and process control system management.

Kimble Clark, Ph.D.		Failure analysis, heat transfer & thermodynamics, process plant equipment failures & explosions, fuel science, combustion, industrial fires and explosions.

Richard Schreiber, P.E.		Machinery and mechanical device failure analysis, mechanical testing, combustion and heat transfer, industrial fires and explosions, gas appliances.

Eric Sullivan, P.E.		Metallurgy, welding, failure analysis, fire and explosion investigations, equipment, piping.