Fire Department: Natural gas buildup likely led to Chicago
South Side building collapse
A
People's Gas worker looks over the debris Monday at the site of a building
collapse on the 5800 block of South Calumet Avenue in Chicago, the day after
Chicago Fire Department crews rescued two people and a dog. (Jose M. Osorio,
Chicago Tribune)
An explosion of built-up natural gas from a leak likely
caused the collapse of a three-story condominium building in the Washington
Park neighborhood over the weekend, the Chicago Fire Department determined
Tuesday.
Neighbors had described hearing a loud explosion before
the 10-year-old frame apartment building collapsed about 7 p.m. Sunday in the
5800 block of South Calumet Avenue. The collapse left the building "pancaked,"
and firefighters rescued two women, ages 51 and 78, and a dog from the rubble,
Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said at the time.
The department's Office of Fire Investigation "determined
the most probable cause of the building collapse ... was a buildup of natural
gas from an appliance or customer owned piping in the lower level of the
building," Langford said in a statement Tuesday. "The resulting
ignition caused the structure to fail. Peoples Gas has worked closely with CFD
on this investigation."
The gas buildup that led to the explosion appears to
have been related to the building's internal connection to its gas meters,
Langford said in an email.
Although they were taken to hospitals in
serious-to-critical condition, both victims were speaking when they were pulled
from the debris, fire officials said. The younger victim had been on the third
floor, while the older woman had been on the second floor, officials said.
The building was built in 2005 and was cited last year
for building code violations, but no fire code violations, according to city
records. The property is a condominium building, but all the units have the
same owner of record, according to property records. The owner has not been
available for comment.
