MAY 28, 2015
NORFOLK, VA
The Fire Marshal’s
Office on Wednesday identified the construction company that it says damaged an
underground electrical line and led to the Selden Arcade explosion last month.
In a statement, the
office reported that a worker from P.G. Harris Construction Co., based in
Chesapeake, damaged the electrical line earlier on the day of the April 17
explosion.
The worker was
finishing a repair to the arcade’s “drain line” that connects to the city’s
sewer system, according to the statement.
A spokesman for
Norfolk Fire-Rescue, Battalion Chief Julian Williamson, has previously reported
that the damaged electrical line created a heat buildup, which led to the
explosion.
Also on Wednesday, a
spokeswoman for the Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Amanda Howie, said
in an email that the office’s review of the investigation “finds that the
matter is not criminal in nature.”
Fire-Rescue Chief
Jeff Wise had previously reported that the explosion had been deemed
accidental.
The explosion caused
heavy damage throughout Selden Arcade, shattering glass, collapsing several
interior walls and shifting an exterior wall.
Reached by phone
last week, P.G. Harris’ president, Teresa Harris, said she didn’t want to
comment because the situation was still under investigation.
“There’s not a final
report from the fire marshal,” Harris said, referring questions to her
attorney. “It’s a little premature for anybody to be making any comment.”
P.G. Harris’
attorney, Adam Casagrande, said he could not confirm or deny that his client
had performed the work that led to the explosion because the investigation is
not complete.
“It’s our
understanding that there’s an ongoing investigation as to what caused the
explosion, let alone who caused the explosion,” Casagrande said Wednesday. “And
that has not been determined yet.”
He said that any
work performed by P.G. Harris outside Selden “was performed at the instruction
and under the supervision and direction of the city of Norfolk.”
The Fire Marshal’s
Office news release Wednesday came as The Virginian-Pilot was preparing to
publish an article – relying on documents obtained through a public records
request – identifying P.G. Harris as the company involved.
In response to a
records request seeking the identity of the vendor involved in the damage, the
city provided a city contract, work orders and other documents about P.G.
Harris.
But city spokeswoman
Lori Crouch would not answer key questions about P.G. Harris’ involvement or
the documents the city provided.
“Thank you but all
we have to say at this time is what I provided already,” Crouch wrote in an
email.
The city also
refused to turn over correspondence between officials and the company about the
explosion, as well as documents that detailed how the company caused the
damage, on the grounds that the records were part of a criminal investigation.
When asked how the
investigation could be criminal if the city had already ruled the explosion
accidental, Crouch said “accidents and criminal conduct are not mutually
exclusive.”
Howie said the city
attorney’s office could pursue misdemeanor charges, such as violations of fire
code.
The Pilot also
requested records that revealed the specific job that the company was
performing when the damage occurred.
The city provided
records that show P.G. Harris had been hired for $278,000 to renovate some
space in Selden Arcade to make way for a cafe associated with the Slover
Library next door.
Casagrande, however,
cast doubt that any work performed on April 17 was tied to that project.
Two work orders for
Selden bistro renovation state that the work had to be complete by Dec. 12.
Casagrande confirmed
that P.G. Harris’ work was finished before the Slover Library opened in early
January.
Crouch would not
answer questions on the timing.
//////////////////------------------///
NORFOLK, VA
The Fire Marshal's
Office has determined that an "air-gas" explosion at the Selden
Arcade last month stemmed from a short in a damaged electrical line, Norfolk's
fire-rescue department reported Monday.
Investigators have
determined that a private company working for the city damaged the electrical
line while trying to access a sewer line at the northeast corner of the arcade,
Norfolk Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Julian Williamson said.
The damaged
electrical lines created "very high heat conditions" that ultimately
triggered the explosion, according to Williamson and a preliminary report on
the Selden explosion investigation.
"We just had a
buildup of heat and the conditions got right to where you had the
explosion," Williamson said.
What investigators
don't know yet is what caused the buildup of heat to ignite.
"That's what
we're still trying to find out," Williamson said. "Lab samples are
being looked at. Interviews are still being conducted."
Williamson, however,
did say that there was no natural gas leak.
The damaged electrical
lines provided power to Selden, and the central blast area inside the building
was an electrical closet.
The damage caused to
the electrical lines occurred April 17, the same day the explosion rocked the
Selden, according to the report.
Several interior
walls collapsed, an exterior wall cracked and shifted, and glass shattered. The
explosion caused heavy damage throughout the building.
Williamson said the
private company was not working on the sewer line in connection with the nearby
hotel/conference center project, The Main.
He said he did not
know the name of the private company, nor did he have any details about the
specific sewer work being performed.
The city's
spokeswoman, Lori Crouch, did not respond to questions about the company and
the sewer work early Monday evening.
The d'Art Center in
the arcade will remain closed for several months for repairs. D'Egg Diner and
Starbucks reopened Friday using generator power.
A final report about
the investigation is still several weeks away.
Source:
pilotonline.com
//-------------//
Office of the Fire
Marshal
May 1, 2015
Selden Arcade
Explosion Preliminary Report
The purpose of this
document is to provide a preliminary report regarding the investigation of the
April 17, 2015 explosion at the
Norfolk Selden Arcade. The mission of this investigation is to determine what
happened and why
it happened.
On April 17, 2015 at
8:01 pm Norfolk Fire-Rescue (NFR) units were dispatched to the Selden Arcade
for a report of an explosion. Less
than 3 minutes later the first fire truck arrived, established command and
began to investigate
the reported
incident. Initial decisions were made based on the protection of Life; Property
and the Environment.
Within the first
minutes of the event, NFR investigators from the Norfolk Fire Marshal?s Office
(FMO) were on-scene and started
their incident investigation.
Investigative
Information to Date:
0 No signs of a
malicious attack on the Selden Arcade have been discovered.
- On Friday April
17, 2015 a worker from a private company was attempting to access a sewer line
at the North East corner of
the Selden Arcade. The investigation has identified damage to electrical lines
at this
work site that
provided power to the Selden Arcade.
0 Evidence reveals
that an electrical short in the area of the damaged line created very high heat
conditions that can be
associated with the damaged electrical line.
0 Electrical power
to the Selden Arcade remained on up to the time ofthe explosion. The central blast
area was located in the electrical closet at the Selden Arcade.
0 This explosion was
an air-gas type of explosion and not an explosion due to an explosive device.
0 The origin point
of the electrical failure is located outside at the North East corner of the
Selden Arcade. This is the area
where the worker was attempting to access the sewer line.
0 Due to the blast,
fire protection systems were damaged and are in the process of being restored.
The investigation
will continue until all facts regarding this explosion are gathered and
understood. The FMO has been in contact per
protocol, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and The Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and
Explosives (ATF). A final investigative report will be completed as soon as
practical.
Reviewed by:
Sub dby:
i
I 1
Roger T. B?u-rlis
?Jeffrey F. Wise
Norfolk Fire Marshal
Norfolk Fire Chief
100 Brooke Avenue,
Suite 400, Norfolk, VA 23510
(757) 664?6604 Fax
(757) 441-2537