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2007 Slush Pile

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One Last Smoke

2007 Reader Submission
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Lit match, gas and rain contributed to Woodard home explosion

Homeowner told to quit lighting matches before incident

By Matt Smith/Staff Writer

Several events coincided to cause the May 29 Woodard Avenue home explosion, that led to the death of one family member and injuries to four others, according to a report by the Cleburne fire marshal released Tuesday.

A lit match, the accumulation of natural gas, heavy rain and a broken air conditioner seal caused two explosions within the home, Fire Marshal Bill Wright concluded in his report.

Helicopters transported four of the five family members present to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Hazel Pawlik, 64, died June 2 from injuries suffered in the explosion. Pawlik’s daughter, Hazel Sanderson, 44, and granddaughter, Stephanie Sanderson, 9, remain hospitalized. Pawlik’s husband, David Pawlik, 66, and son-in-law, Steve Sanderson, 49, have since been released from the hospital. Pawlik’s other granddaughter, Misty Sanderson, 17, escaped the explosion without injury. The blast rendered the house a total loss and led to the temporary evacuation of nearby homes.

Several causes ascribed

The explosions occurred as a result of natural gas accumulations inside the house and a match lit by David Pawlik, according to Wright’s report. A natural gas leak occurred in the street in front on the Pawlik’s home in the 600 block of Woodard Avenue.

“Under normal circumstances the gas from this leak would spread around the area of the leak and work its way to the surface through natural openings in the soil surface and dissipate into the air,” Wright said in his report. “Due to recent rainfall over a prolonged period of time and the water saturation of the soil surface, the naturally occurring cracks and openings in the soil surface had been sealed and did not allow the gas to escape the soil as would naturally occur. This allowed for the gas to migrate much further under ground than normal.”

The gas followed the subsurface path of a water line under Pawlik’s driveway then penetrated the sewer line because of gaps and imperfections in the old-style clay piping of the line coupled with years of settling. The gas next migrated through a drain from the central air conditioning unit, which was dropped into the open sewer line, according to reports. An improper seal on the line caused the air conditioner to pump the gas into the home where, being lighter than air, it accumulated throughout the Pawlik’s home, Wright concluded in his report.

“The reason the family could not smell the gas is because after traveling that far through soil and water the methyl mercaptan that is added to natural gas [to give it it’s smell] could be washed or scrubbed out by the filtering action of the soil,” Wright reported. “This would make the gas in the residence undetectable without the aid of detection equipment.”

Additionally, Pawlik’s home was all electric and had no gas power.

Flames shooting to the ceiling before the explosions

David Pawlik phoned the fire department’s nonemergency line about 45 minutes to an hour before his home exploded, according to reports. In a May 31 letter, Cleburne Fire Inspector Scott Oesch writes that David Pawlik called and said, “every time my wife lights a cigarette a blue flame shoots up to the ceiling.”

Oesch said, “No, I doubt it” when Pawlik asked if his air conditioner could be drawing gas into the house from outside.

In his letter, Oesch said he told Pawlik he would come check the situation out and asked Pawlik to tell his wife to quit lighting cigarettes until he got there.

Oesch later told Wright he did not initiate an emergency response as Pawlik did not seem excited or distressed about the situation and that he [Oesch] planned to go check on the situation personally as soon as he could. Pawlik also told Oesch he did not smell any gas.

Pawlik, nonetheless, lit a match, according to reports, because Hazel Pawlik wanted a cigarette before Oesch arrived.

Two explosions

The first match went out. The second ignited what Wright determined to be a flash fire of gas accumulated by the ceiling. A second explosion 15-20 seconds later occurred when the fire penetrated into the attic space, which had a much higher concentration of gas, according to reports. The second explosion resulted in severe structural damage including the collapse of bricks and wallboard into the room where family members had been seconds before.

David Pawlik grabbed a fire extinguisher to douse the ensuing fire but quickly abandoned the attempt, according to reports. The gap between explosions allowed Misty to escaped unharmed and David Pawlik to escape before receiving severe burns.

Stephanie ran down the hall instead of outside, according to reports, which placed her inside the home when the second explosion occurred and led to severe burn injuries.

Steve Sanderson attempted to help his wife Hazel out of the home. Both were in the house when the second explosion blew them and the front door onto the porch, according to reports. Hazel Pawlik, the last to leave the home, suffered exposure to the fire conditions longer than anyone else.

Wright ruled the fire accidental.

Suit filed

The family filed a lawsuit against Atmos Energy Corp. in June seeking unspecified damages.

“[Wright’s report] confirms there was a pretty massive buildup of gas in the home, number one,” said John Curney, an attorney representing the family. “Number two, it shows David Pawlik called beforehand and that the Cleburne Fire Department didn’t make much of the leak. They said “No” when he asked if the gas could have been coming from the air conditioner.”

Cleburne City Manager Chester Nolen declined to comment on Curney’s remarks.

“No, our report is what it is,” Nolen said.

Curney said Stephanie and Hazel Sanderson remain hospitalized.

“Stephanie is doing a little better,” Curney said. “Hazel Faye [Sanderson] is not doing too well, unfortunately.”

Atmos response

“Safety is Atmos Energy’s highest priority,” said Rand LaVonn, communications manager. “Our longtime operations experts have never witnessed or experienced odorant being filtered out by soil. Filtering of mercaptan or odorant could only be possible under very precise conditions and, again, our employees in Texas have never known that to happen.”

LaVonn encouraged anyone suspecting a natural-gas leak to leave the area and then call 1-866-EC-ATMOS so the company can dispatch someone to the scene as soon as possible.

LaVonn said Atmos Energy officials cannot comment further on the specifics of the May 29 incident because of pending litigation.

Matt Smith can be reached at 817-645-2441, ext. 2339, or msmith@trcle.com.

Submitted on 07/16/2007

Submitted by: Timothy Bergman
Reference: July 11, 2007 Cleburne Times-Review

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thank, Timothy, we've already received this story a few times.

James said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
As Bruce said!

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2007 Slush Pile

One Last Smoke

2007 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance