PHOTOS: Natural gas pipeline explodes in fireball, burning homes

In this photo taken by Salem Township Supervisor Kerry Jobe, flames erupt during a natural gas explosion at a pipeline complex in Greensburg, Pa., on Friday, April 29, 2016.
In this photo taken by Salem Township Supervisor Kerry Jobe, flames erupt during a natural gas explosion at a pipeline complex in Greensburg, Pa., on Friday, April 29, 2016.

GREENSBURG, Pa. — A natural gas pipeline exploded in a towering fireball Friday, destroying a home several hundred yards away, damaging at least three others and creating waves of intense heat that burned a fleeing homeowner as he ran down a road, authorities said.

"It looked like you were looking down into hell," said Forbes Road Volunteer Fire Chief Bob Rosatti.

The fire and heat seared scores of acres of woodlands around the pipeline in Salem Township, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, turning tall trees into blackened poles, melting the siding off one property, and causing wet pavement to steam. People miles away reported hearing a huge whooshing sound and feeling the ground rumble.

A quarter-mile evacuation zone was established, affecting about a dozen homes, said state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman John Poister.

The state Department of Environmental Protection said the blast was traced to a 36-inch pipeline. They said the pipeline and nearby complex is owned by Texas Eastern Transmission, a unit of Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp. of Houston. The cause was unknown.

Spectra Energy is the owner of the pipeline that ruptured in the Arkansas River in June, releasing about 3.9 million cubic feet of natural gas.

The pipeline in Pennsylvania was shut off and the fire brought under control within an hour Friday, but residual gas burned for several hours before the fire was completely out by early afternoon, officials said.

The man who was burned lived in the house closest to the fire. It was destroyed.

"He told us that he heard a loud noise and compared it to a tornado. All he saw was fire and started running up the roadway and a passerby picked him up," Rosatti said.

"The heat was so intense that it was burning him as he was running," he said.

He was conscious and talking to rescue workers when he was taken to the hospital, officials said.

photo

Kerry Jobe via AP

In this photo taken by Salem Township Supervisor Kerry Jobe, first responders work the scene during a natural gas explosion at a nearby pipeline complex in Greensburg, Pa., on Friday, April 29, 2016.

Upcoming Events