Natural gas-fueled appliances investigated in Indy home explosion

Citizens Energy workers continue their investigation Nov. 12, 2012, at the site of an explosion at a house in Indianapolis. / AP Photo/WTHR Chopper 13/The Indianapolis Star

Updated 6:51 p.m. ET

INDIANAPOLIS he investigation into an Indianapolis explosion that killed two people and decimated a neighborhood turned Tuesday to natural gas-fueled appliances.

Indianapolis Homeland Security Director Gary Coons issued a statement saying his "investigators believe natural gas is involved" and that they were "recovering the appliances from destroyed homes to help determine the cause."

The explosion showed some signs that aren't typical of a natural gas explosion caused by an appliance, experts said, but it still could have been tied to a faulty furnace -- if conditions were right.

As investigators try to determine what caused a deadly explosion that ravaged an Indianapolis subdivision, an expert says people shouldn't be alarmed by a homeowner's suggestion that his faulty furnace could be to blame.

The owner of the house believed to be at the center of Saturday's explosion has said the home's furnace had been having problems. But experts said that doesn't mean homeowners should be worried that their furnaces are about to explode.

John Shirley, 50, of Noblesville, said his daughter told him recently that the furnace had gone out in the house she shares with her mother and her mother's boyfriend. He said his daughter told him the furnace was working again, but he wondered if a leak from the furnace could have led to the explosion that killed a couple next door. No one was in Shirley's home at the time of the blast, he said.

21 Photos

Explosion destroys homes in Indiana

Scott Davis, president and principal engineer of GexCon US, an explosion investigation firm in Bethesda, Md., said it's hard to believe a furnace could cause the damage seen in the Indianapolis neighborhood. He noted that most furnaces have multiple safety switches that must be triggered before any gas is used.

"For a furnace to allow that much gas through, you'd have to defeat many of the safety features," he said.

A source in contact with the house's residents told CBS Indianapolis affiliate WISH-TV that a member of the family had complained about smelling gas in the house, but was unsure when the complaint was made.

Public Safety Director Troy Riggs said investigators will treat the area as a crime scene until they rule out foul play. Local and federal investigators say it's too soon to rule on a cause but are slowly weeding out some possibilities.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to check the integrity of a gas main and other lines serving the neighborhood, and local gas supplier Citizens Energy said it also was checking gas lines.

"It's too early to speculate that this might have been caused by a gas leak," Citizens Energy spokeswoman Sarah Holsapple said.

Gas explosions have leveled neighborhoods before, including a 2011 explosion that killed five in Allentown, Pa., and a blast in 2010 in San Bruno, Calif., that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. Both of those cases were tied to gas pipelines. A gas leak in a Colorado home last month sparked an explosion that sent five people to a hospital and damaged several nearby homes.

Davis said he's seen a home explosion caused by a malfunctioning furnace before, but it did not level the house.

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[pareshtrivedi]

Article is not giving proper address of the explosion. Why?

[banginlesabre03]

Aliens are to blame...They ran off course and flew their Spaceship into a house instead of mikes express car wash. :\

[indymama317]

I'm not sure when the latest comment was made but this has been declared a criminal investigation and the natural gas theory has been cleared and unfounded.

[truthbetold77]

insurance fraud

[justicepeace]

I find it suspicious that Shirley was not home and her cat was boarded. If she only went to a casino why did she have to board a cat? A dog might be more understandable, but a cat? I find it even more suspicious that the Longworth couple was found dead in the basement of their house. Why were they in the basement in the first place? I haven't heard any news station cover the fact that a sonic boom was heard and an earthquake felt BEFORE the explosion either. I think whatever blew up this neighborhood came from the sky and the fact that we still have no answers just tells me that when an "official" explanation is finally given, it will undoubtably be a lie.

[margroks]

FIrst you blame the people in the house at the center of the explosion then you claim there was a sonic boom (how do you know if you didn't hear it yourself?) AND an earthquake (anyone heard about that?) and THEN you say it was something from the sky (missile? As if anyone would miss THAT) or possibly a meteor? This can all be settled rationally by plotting out the path of damage from the epicenter. You can see if an explosion was outward or inward. Why don't we wait instead of cooking up fatastic conspiracy theories with no evidence to support them?

[MrEthiopian]

Why were they in the basement: could it be that they had a finished basement and that they were watching TV?

Sonic boom: Could have been from the massive explosion because explosions do make sound.

Source came from the sky?: Is this because that's where your from?

"official" explanation will be a lie, let me guess that you subscribe to the national enquirer and you think everything in that publication is true?

God help us all if your truly are a justicepeace, that would explain a few things.

This has been fun, hope to see you on planet earth some day.

MRethiopain

[Smart0ne]

When I had a furnace problem, it didn't occur to me to move into a hotel. I just had it fixed while at home - you do have to be around for repairs, after all. Then of course I hadn't just pulled the house off the market because it didn't sell for over a year. I'd get my money back from the repairman who fixed their furnace... but maybe they got more than they paid for.

[steveoreno10]

http://beforeitsnews.com/war-and-conflict/2012/11/drone-targets-indianapolis-massive-explosion-reported-after-cia-drone-targets-indianapolis-2443986.html

[David_Tampa]

Wow Norton thinks your site is full of worms, bugs and horses

[David_Tampa]

If you can breathe in the enclosed space, there is NOT enough gas for an explosion. Period.

[TruthSerumNow]

it was a meteorite that had hit the home. A meteorite as small as a can of Pepsi could easily cause this much damage, ESPECIALLY if it hit a gas line entering the home!

There is coincidentally supposed to be another NEAR - EARTH comet / asteroid /comet coming towards earth that the Government isn't telling us about. This could very well be part of the debris trail.

Find us on Face Book - Truth Serum Now.

[enlightenu]

This most definitely is a gas explosion. The explosion is from the basement, but not centered in the basement. Look at the photo of the house next door. You can draw a line from the angular blast damage of that house right to the edge of the foundation of the house that exploded. The blast path forms a wide swath. The entire basement was saturated with gas to a high level before it detonated.

[IndyKittyGirl]

ENLIGHTENU, you are wrong. The blast did NOT start in the home with the basement, it started in the house to the north, (The Shirley home) and that home was built on a slab. How do I know? I live very close by.