Home Improvement Accident Causes Natural Gas Explosion Damaging 20 Homes reports LocalPlumberSaylesbury.com

San Francisco, CA- Two men in upstate New Yorkcaused a natural gas explosion when they tried to install a home water heater.The accident caused the men to be severely burned, destroyed three homes, anddamaged 20 others. The two men, an 86-year-old former handyman who owned theCorning, New York residence and his 38-year-old grandson, had failed to disconnectthe gas line properly. The blast on a Friday morning in August was reportedlyheard throughout the city of 11,000.

The do-it-yourselfer octogenarian had lost his sense ofsmell, and his grandson was suffering from a sinus condition. Thus, neitherdetected the odor of the natural gas seeping into the basement before one ofthem lit a propane torch in order to sweat copper fittings on the gas pipe.

The Corning police chief said the men were pulled fromthe wreckage by neighbors. Authorities said they survived due to having beenworking in a corner of the basement, somewhat shielding them from the blastthat moved up and away from them. The homes walls blew straight out. Its roofwent straight up in the air, according to the local fire chief. When a rescuecrew arrived to airlift them to a hospital, it found wreckage from neighborhoodhomes hanging from trees and floating in a nearby swimming pool.

A veteran plumber on the plumbing board in nearbyBinghamton, New York, points to the incident as the latest proof that tighterstandards are needed for potentially dangerous jobs. The board official calledfor an end to local laws letting homeowners, and in some cases unqualifiedcontractors, perform such potentially dangerous work. The two men whose homerepair attempts turned into a demolition had not violated any local ordinances,the Corning fire chief noted.

Besides the danger of devastating explosion, botchedplumbing work can cause air and water contamination, notes Rudy Gaspar, who has over 40 years experience in the trade. He added, There are so many things thatcan go wrong, and urged local communities to step up site inspections andreview of work permits. Although some local regulations contain loopholes thatless-qualified contractors do the work, Gaspar cautions that potentiallydangerous jobs like installing gas-fired water heaters should only be done byproperly trained and licensed plumbers.

Even before the incident, plumbing board officials andtrade groups had been advocating tighter regulations, to prevent unqualifiedpersons from attempting potentially dangerous plumbing projects. The Binghamtoncity council recently voted to withdraw with an agreement recognizing licensesfrom Oneonta, another city in the area, after finding that some plumbers basedin other cities were getting licensed in Oneonta due to lower licensingstandards there.

About LocalPlumberSaylesbury.com:

LocalPlumberSaylesbury.com (http://www.localplumbersaylesbury.com)is run by a Gas engineer Aylesbury who serves the Aylesbury region ofBuckinghamshire, England, providing a full range of plumbing and heatingservices of all sizes. Run by a gas safe plumber Aylesbury and a reliableplumber in Aylesbury, the firm offers top-quality 24-hour emergency services atvery competitive rates. The Peter Masons Plumbing & Heating Aylesburywebsite contains a full description of its services, testimonials fromsatisfied customers and a gallery of before-and-after photos from the reliableplumber in Aylesbury, who is a local, trustworthy plumber. Need a plumber? Needplumbing work? Visit us and click here on the URL and get information on how tocall Peter the plumber.

About: Press Release Syndication

Continue reading here:

Home Improvement Accident Causes Natural Gas Explosion Damaging 20 Homes reports LocalPlumberSaylesbury.com