Haymarket home explosion: Investigation into what ignited gas continues
Investigators confirm gas leak led to Haymarket home explosion
Neighbors are picking up the pieces after a devastating house explosion and fire rocked their small community Tuesday evening. Fortunately, nobody was killed or even hurt but the power of the explosion is evident when you check out the scene 24 hours later — it’s a mess.
HAYMARKET, Va. - Neighbors in Haymarket are picking up the pieces after a devastating house explosion and fire rocked their small community Tuesday evening.
Fortunately, nobody was killed or even hurt but the power of the explosion is evident when you check out the scene 24 hours later. It’s a mess.
There are still lots of questions and while everyone is thankful no one was hurt, there’s still heartache for the neighbors.
"It's sad. It's devastating," Rob Karas said.
He and his wife Mouna were home across the cul-de-sac from the house that exploded Tuesday, claiming the lives of three pets — two cats and a dog.
In the daylight, you get a sense of the destructive force of that blast.
"[I was] facing this way with the house to my back and then I hear this ‘boom!’ And I just get pushed. Last night my whole back was hurting. I was in pain. It blew out my garage and there was some debris and then a couple of windows landed out in the middle of the street about 30 to 50 feet from me. It was crazy," Karas said.
Another neighbor pointed out a bowling ball that ended up in front of his home after rocketing out of the house that exploded.
"There was one gas person here and he was wandering around and after the house exploded everybody was looking for him and we didn’t know where he was and then I found him on the side of my house. I was like 'here he is!' He was shocked. He was visibly shocked," Karas said.
READ MORE: Investigation continues into Virginia home explosion; no injuries reported
SkyFox was over the scene Tuesday evening. The house on Colby Hunt Court in the gated golf community of Piedmont in Haymarket.
Prince William County fire officials tell FOX 5 that a contractor replacing a water line to the house struck and ruptured a two-inch gas line.
After neighbors smelled the gas around 4:15 p.m. and called 911, eight nearby homes were evacuated. About an hour later, the explosion happened.
"I mean, I’m in shock, really," Mouna Karas said. "I just can’t believe that you know something like that could happen. I thought that when you hire plumbers they are professional and they should be able to know where the gas line is."
An employee from Utiliquest says they were out here and marked the gas line before the work on the water line was started but what ignited the fire is still under investigation. Four adults and two children from two different families were living inside the home, including Jarrett Stuniak.
"I'm more or less trying to stay strong for my daughter and fiancé, so they can have somebody to lean on even though I want to fall apart myself," said Stuniak.
Washington Gas crews were back on scene Wednesday making repairs to its infrastructure. They’re hoping to have service back to the impacted homes in the coming hours.
FOX 5 has reached out to the company doing the water work out here Tuesday. We’re still waiting for a callback.
Meanwhile, investigators say they may never know what caused the gas to ignite.