HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the deadly August 2024 house explosion in Bel Air, concluding the accident was preventable.
The report states that had Exelon and BGE "responded effectively to the second and third reports of the suspected gas leak, the accident would not have happened."
On August 11, 2024, a home exploded on Arthurs Woods Drive, killing the owner and one of BGE's contractors.
Two deaths in Bel Air Gas explosion were preventable, NTSB report shows
RELATED: Report confirms odor of gas detected prior to deadly Bel Air home explosion
According to NTSB, the night before the explosion, a neighbor reported smelling a strong gas odor about 0.2 miles from the home. This prompted a response from Exelon, who inspected the area for leaks, but they didn't find one.
Meanwhile, another Exelon service technician also happened to be at the home that night, investigating an electrical power outage.
While they ended up referring the problem to a contractor, the technician did tell dispatch about an odor of gas coming from outside the home.
The next morning, two Exelon contractors returned to the home the morning of the explosion to follow up on the technician's referral and make proper repairs.
One of the contractors reported smelling gas in front of the home around 6:05 a.m.
At 6:48 a.m., the home exploded, killing the owner, Ray Corkran Jr., 73, and one of the Exelon contractors, Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado, 35.
The second contractor escaped with minor injuries.
At the time of the accident, Exelon's call system automatically answered incoming calls before routing to an available agent.
The accident call-center agent told the NTSB that he had been drinking alcohol before his shift, which was an unscheduled-overtime shift, and had fallen asleep at his desk, causing him to miss calls related to the leak.
That employee has since been fired.
Following the explosion, BGE conducted tests to the gas service line and found that it failed to hold pressure, indicating a leak.
Gas service was supplied to the home through a 1.25-inch plastic main and a half-inch plastic natural gas service line, both installed between 2006 and 2007.
Electrical service was supplied by three cables installed in the same trench as the gas pipe. NTSB investigators determined the gas and electrical service lines were situated just three to 15 inches apart.
As a result, natural gas leaked from the damaged pipe, migrated to the home, and ignited NTSB reports.
NTSB says Exelon failed to mitigate the risk that the leak posed, even after three people reported it.
"Had Exelon responded effectively to the second and third reports of the suspected natural gas leak, the accident would not have occurred," the report says.
In response to the report, BGE issued the following statement:
Our hearts remain with the family, loved ones, and all those impacted by the tragic explosion in Bel Air on August 11, 2024.
Safety is our highest responsibility, and we appreciate the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) thorough review of this incident.
The NTSB's final report [ntsb.gov] identified a breakdown in how information about a suspected gas leak was communicated and acted upon across multiple functions of our organization. BGE had procedures in place intended to ensure suspected gas leaks were promptly escalated and investigated. In this case, those procedures were not followed as intended, resulting in missed opportunities to identify and address the hazard before the incident occurred.
After a nearly two-year investigation:
- The NTSB offered no recommendations for improvements to BGE's policies and procedures, and instead cited the actions BGE has proactively taken to enhance operations across its gas, electric, and customer operations divisions.
- The NTSB found no systemic safety issues with BGE's natural gas system.
While no action can undo the devastating loss caused by this tragedy, we are committed to learning from it and continuously improving our systems, processes, and safety culture. Our focus remains on protecting our customers, employees, contractors, and the communities we serve every day.
