Stafford Township, New Jersey — The dash cam of a Stafford Township New Jersey Police Officer captured an explosion after a two-inch natural gas line broke and had been leaking. Neighbors reported smelling the gas approximately 90-minutes prior to the explosion.
The explosion happened at 59 Oak Avenue, Stafford, New Jersey. The house was under renovation.
The blast left 15 people injured — 13 firefighters and two utility workers were critically injured.
“Our investigation identified a cracked 2-inch distribution main, which we believe is the root cause of yesterday’s incident,” Mike Kinney of New Jersey Natural Gas told Ocala Post in an e-mail. “The natural gas in the ground is going to follow the path of least resistance, which in this case was the structure.”
Officials said something must have caused a spark, which ignited the gas causing the explosion.
New Jersey Gas worked through the night trying to restore heat to approximately 300 customers.