By Matt Smith/ Staff Writer
Gasoline vapors discovered seeping from the Cleburne sewer system June 4 are not related to natural gas leaks that played a role in a house explosion May 29 on Woodard Avenue, Cleburne Fire Chief Clint Ishmael said. State and local officials are working to eliminate the flammable vapors before they cause any harm.
Firefighters and city crews checked areas in the 900 block of East Henderson Street on June 4 after receiving reports of an odor emanating from the area.
Fire officials contacted Texas Commission on Environmental Quality officials after detectors registered the presence of gasoline vapors. TCEQ officials then dispatched Eagle Contractors from Fort Worth to begin mitigation of the vapors.
The May 29 home explosion, which resulted in the hospitalization of five family members and one death, occurred after a natural gas leak accumulated in the sewers and leaked into the family’s home, city officials said.
The explosion occurred after someone in the home lit a cigarette.
“That area of town is notorious for old gas stations that closed down years ago and left gas tanks behind,” Ishmael said.
The old gas tanks were made of steel, and they rust over time, Ishmael said.
Although the source of the vapors remains unknown, Ishmael said the source is probably a gas tank that still contains gasoline from years ago.
Workers installed equipment and instruments in the 900 block of East Henderson Street to pull the vapors from the sewer and incinerate them, Ishmael said.
“It could be there a month,” Ishmael said. “It will stay until it registers a zero reading on gasoline vapors.”
Matt Smith can be reached at 817-645-2441, ext. 2339, or msmith@trcle.com.
