By Michelle Manchir, Adam Sege and Rosemary R. Sobol, Chicago Tribune –
INDIANAPOLIS — Investigators are trying to find out what caused two houses on Indianapolis’ south side to explode, killing two two people, displacing dozens and leaving a scene of destruction.
Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Bacon said no causes are being ruled out yet.
The two people killed are adults, Bacon said, but police said it could be Tuesday before they are identified. About 75 neighborhood residents are displaced for now, said Sgt. Christian Nielsen of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Meanwhile, volunteers on Sunday night grilled hamburgers and brought winter coats, toilet paper, Gatorade, Cheerios and other donations to a church near the site of the explosion. The community room in Southport Presbyterian Church was filled with volunteers folding clothes dropped off by residents with pick-up trucks full of dog food, soap and toothpaste.
Back at the Richmond Hill subdivision, power and gas were being returned Sunday night to the homes that sustained the least amount of damage, said Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Mayor Greg Ballard’s office. Still, at least 26 homes can’t be lived in for an indefinite amount of time, said Adam Collins, deputy director of Indiana Code Enforcement.
Police, fire and utility company officials milled around the site behind police tape Sunday evening. Sofa cushions, miniblinds and bricks were in the street in front of the lot, in the 8400 block of Fieldfare Way, where the home exploded.
“I’ve seen some horrible tornado damage, but I have never seen anything quite like this,” Nielsen said.
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., who represents the area, said federal Department of Homeland Security officials told him that a bomb and a methamphetamine lab have been ruled out as causes.
Dan Considine, a spokesman for Citizens Energy Group, said gas officials had not found any signs of a gas leak in the neighborhood as of Sunday afternoon. He also said the company had received no calls in the past few days from residents reporting the scent of a gas.
The two homes exploded shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, sparking fires in two others and damaging at least two dozen homes nearby, said Lt. Bonnie Hensley, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Fire Department.
From his bedroom a block away, software engineer Chris Patterson, 47, said he felt the walls of his home shake. The force of the explosion shattered a glass sliding door in his home, Patterson said.
Natural gas line or valve broke – happenedd to me years ago – bbew up my large shop and burned it to the ground – 2 in high pressure line broke because of frost heave – line was over 50 years old – explosion heard and seen more than a mile away – good thing my son and I were at my other place of business – 7:45 am in the morning – fire marshall ruled power company at fault and they settled without court – Thankyou fire marshall and thank you power company,